CAMBRIDGE COUNTY GEOGRAPHIES 

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WEST LONDON 





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CAMBRIDGE COUNTY GEOGRAPHIES 

General Editor: F. H.'H. Guiixemard, M.A., M.D. 



WEST LONDON 



Wrr.iM z"i^ri \\K 



CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 

Hoiltion: FETTER LANE, E.C. 

C. F. CLAY, Manager 




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All rights reserved 



Cambridge County Geographies 

WEST LONDON 

by 

G. F. BOSWORTH, F.R.G.S. 



With Maps, Diagrams and Illustrations 



Cambridge : 

at the University Press 

1912 



T>*£ 



Camfarttigf: 



•RINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 



3 0.3 1 - 






CONTENTS 



i. County and Shire. The County of London. The 

word London : its Origin and Meaning . . i 

2. General Characteristics. Position and Natural Con- 

ditions. Why London is our Capital ... 6 

3. Size. Boundaries. Development. History of Growth. 

London of the Romans, of the Saxons, of the 
Normans. Medieval London. Stuart London . 12 

4. London Parks, Commons, and Open Spaces in the 

N.W. and S.W 20 

5. The Royal Parks— St James's Park. The Green 

Park. Hyde Park. Kensington Gardens. Regent's 
Park 30 

6. The River Thames. The Embankment. The 

Wandle. The Bridges 38 

7. Rivers of the Past. The Westbourne, and the 

Tybourne, or Tyburn ...... 54 

8. The Water-Supply of London — Past and Present . 57 

9. Geology . . . . . . . • .61 

10. Natural History . . . ... . . -65 

a 3 



vi CONTENTS 

PAGE 

ii. Climate and Rainfall. Greenwich Observatory and 

its Work . . . . . . . .72 

12. People — Race. Dialect. Settlements. Population . 83 

13. Industries and Manufactures ..... 90 

14. Trade. The Markets. The Custom House. The 

Exchanges. The Bank of England. The Royal 
Mint 95 

15. History . . . . . . . . .103 

16. Antiquities — Prehistoric, Roman, Saxon . . .114 

17. Architecture — (a) Ecclesiastical. Medieval Churches. 

Wren's Churches. Chapels Royal . . -125 

18. Architecture — (b) Ecclesiastical. Westminster Abbey 137 

19. Architecture — (c) Domestic. Royal and Episcopal 

Palaces : The Tower, Westminster, Whitehall, The 
Savoy, St James's, Kensington, Buckingham, Lam- 
beth, and Fulham. Houses: Staple Inn, Holland 
House, etc. . . . . . . . 149 

20. Communications — Ancient and Modern. The Thames 

formerly the Normal Highway of London. The 
Thames Watermen . . . . . .163 

21. Administration and Divisions. The City of West- 

minster. The London County Council. The Port 
Authority. Trinity House . . . . .174 

22. Public Buildings — (a) Parliamentary and Legal. 

The Houses of Parliament. Royal Courts of 
Justice. Inns of Court . . . . .179 

23. Public Buildings — (b) Government and Administra- 

tive Offices in Whitehall and Parliament Street. 
Somerset House. Spring Gardens . . -193 



CONTENTS vii 

PAGE 

24. Public Buildings — (c) Museums and Exhibitions. 

British Museum, Natural History Museum, Victoria 
and Albert Museum, India Museum, Imperial 
Institute ........ 200 

25. Public Buildings — (d) Art Galleries. National 

Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery 

of British Art, The Wallace Collection . . .211 

26. Public Buildings — (e) Hospitals. St Thomas's, St 

George's, Charing Cross, Royal Military Hospital, 
Foundling Hospital . . . . . .216 

27. Education — Primary, Secondary, and Technical. 

Foundation and Collegiate Schools. The University 

of London . . . . . . . .222 

28. Roll of Honour . . . . . . .228 

29. The City of Westminster and the Boroughs in the 

North-West and South- West of the County of 
London . . . . . . . -250 

Area and Population . . . . . -259 

Index ......... 262 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



A View of London as it appeared before the dreadful Fire 

in 1666 ......... 4 

The Embankment looking Citywards from Charing Cross. 

{Phot. Frith) 7 

Ancient London and its Surrounding Marshes . . 9 

Plan of Old London: showing the Wall and Gates . 16 

A Party of Pilgrims (from MS. Reg. 18 d ii in the British 

Museum) 18 

Highgate Ponds. [Phot. Frith) 22 

Hampstead from Parliament Hill. {Phot. Frith) . . 26 

Parliament Hill, Hampstead. {Phot. Frith) . . .27 

The Lake: Battersea Park. {Phot. Frith) . . .29 

The Queen Victoria Memorial. {Phot. Sport and General) 32 
Hyde Park, the Serpentine. {Phot. Frith) ... 34 
The Broad Walk, Kensington Gardens. {Phot. Frith) . 35 

Regent's Park. {Phot. Valentine) 3 7 

Fair on the Thames, February 18 14 . . . • 40 

The Thames from Richmond Hill. {Phot. Frith) . . 42 

" The Doves " ........ 44 

Hammersmith Bridge. {Phot. Stern) .... 46 

The Statue of Boadicea on the Thames Embankment. 

{Phot. London Stereoscopic Co.) . . . ?^u\n\ 48 

The Water Gate, Embankment Gardens . ^.no . 49 

Waterloo Bridge. {Phot. Valentirie) .u>\'\) . . [ UiBth^uihi^ 

The Streams of Ancient London . . . irAal rftedrm&J 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



View of the Conduit at Bayswater .... 

The London Basin ....... 

Sir Hans Sloane, M.D. ...... 

Sea Gulls on the Embankment (Phot. Sport and General) 
Greenwich Observatory. (Phot. Frith) 
The 30-inch Reflector at Greenwich ... 
Italian Quarter, Hatton Garden. [Phot. E. G. Wood) 
Old Silk-weavers' Houses in Church Street, Spitalfields 

(Phot. Bridgen) 

Pottery-making, Doulton's Works .... 
Covent Garden. (Phot. Valentine) .... 
Covent Garden Porters. (Phot. E. G. Wood) 
The White Tower. (Phot. Frith) .... 
The Monument. (Phot. Frith) . ... 

Palaeolithic Flint Implement found in Gray's Inn Road 
Enamelled Bronze Shield ..... 

Roman Boat, found near Lambeth, 191 1. (Phot. Sport 

and General) ....... 

London Stone, Cannon Street ..... 

Sir Christopher Wren ...... 

St Clement Danes, Strand ..... 

St George's Church, Bloomsbury .... 

The Roman Catholic Cathedral, Westminster. (Phot 

Valentine) ....... 

Westminster Abbey. (Phot. Frith) .... 

Shrine of Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey 

(Phot. Frith) 

Coronation Chair, Westminster Abbey. (Phot. Frith) 
The Savoy Palace, 1661 . 

St James's Palace. (Phot. Frith) .... 
Kensington Palace. (Phot. Frith) .... 
Buckingham Palace. (Phot. Frith) .... 
Lambeth Palace. (Phot. Frith) 



ILLUSTRATIONS xi 



Fulham Palace. (Phot. E. Cook) 

Northumberland House . 

Holland House. (Phot. Frith) 

Joseph Addison 

Roman Roads in Ancient London 

The Seven Bishops on their way to the Tower 

St Pancras Station. (Phot. E. G. Wood) 

Blackfriars Bridge. (Phot. Valentine) 

Design for the London County Hall 

The Houses of Parliament. (Phot. Frith) 

House of Lords. (Phot. Frith) .... 

The Mace and Purse, House of Lords. (Phot. Frith) 
House of Commons. (Phot. Frith) .... 

The Law Courts. (Phot. Frith) .... 

Westminster Hall. (Phot. Frith) .... 

Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford . 

Lincoln's Inn Gateway. (Phot. E. G. Wood) . 

In Gray's Inn Gardens ...... 

The Horse Guards. (Phot. Frith) .... 

The Foreign Office. (Phot. E. G. Wood) 
The War Office. (Phot. E. G. Wood) . 
Trafalgar Square looking N.W. (Phot.\ Frith) 
Somerset House. (Phot. Frith) .... 

The British Museum. (Phot. Valentine) 

Natural History Museum, South Kensington. (Phot. Frith 

The Imperial Institute. (Phot. Frith) 

The National Gallery and St Martin's Church. (Phot 

Frith) 

The Tate Gallery. {Phot. Frith) . . 

St Thomas's Hospital. (Phot. Frith) 

Chelsea Hospital: the Dining Hall. (Phot. Mansell) 

The Foundling Hospital : the Chapel . . 

St Paul's School ....... 



PAGE 

158 
i59 
160 
162 
165 
168 
170 

1 72 

175 
179 
181 
182 
183 
186 
188 
189 
190 
192 
194 
196 
197 
198 
199 
201 
205 
210 

2 1 2 

214 
217 
219 
22 1 
226 



Xll 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



University College. {Phot. Art Illustration and Reproduc 

tion Co.) .... 
John Henry, Cardinal Newman 
Lord Beaconsfield . 
Edward Gibbon 
Edmund Spenser 
Ben Jonson .... 
John Milton .... 
Alexander Pope 
William Blake 

Samuel Pepys .... 
John Ruskin .... 
Michael Faraday 
Joseph Mallord William Turner 
John Leech .... 
Diagrams .... 



227 
231 
233 
235 

237 
238 

239 

240 
241 

242 

245 
246 

247 
248 
260 



MAPS 



West London, Topographical 

„ Geological 

Rainfall Map of England 



Front Cover 
Back Cover 

75 



The illustrations on pp. 44, 49, 131, and 192 are reproduced 
from Literary London by courtesy of Mr T. Werner Laurie ; that 
on p. 82 is from a photo kindly supplied by Sir W. Christie; that 
on p. 93 from a photo supplied by Messrs Doulton and Co., Ltd; 
the design on p. 175 is reproduced by kind permission of The 
Building Nevus; thanks are also due to the Bishop of London for the 
photo on p. 158 and to Mr S. Bewsher, Bursar of St Paul's School, 
for that on p. 226. The portraits on pp. 231, 233, 240, 241, 
242, 245, 247 and 248 are from photographs by Mr Emery 
Walker; that on p. 237 is reproduced by kind permission of 
Pembroke College, Cambridge. 



i. County and Shire. The County of 
London. The word London: its 
Origin and Meaning. 

The main divisions of our country are known as 
counties, and, in some instances, as shires. When the 
word shire is used, it is added to the county name. For 
instance, we speak of the county of Kent, or of the county 
of Bedford ; but while the word shire is not added to the 
name of Kent, it may be to that of Bedford. Thus we 
write the county of Bedford, or Bedfordshire, but not the 
county of Bedfordshire. Such an expression would be 
wrong and superfluous, for the word shire is now prac- 
tically equivalent to the later word county. 

Although, however, we now call all the divisions of 
England and Wales counties, that title is not historically 
accurate. Some counties, such as Kent, Essex, and Sussex, 
are really survivals of various old English kingdoms, and 
for more than a thousand years there has been but little 
alteration either in their boundaries or their names. 

The divisions now known as Bedfordshire, Hertford- 
shire, and Wiltshire are so called because they were shares 

B. W. L. I 



2 WEST LONDON 

or portions cut off from larger kingdoms. Thus Bedford- 
shire and Hertfordshire were shares or portions of a very 
large kingdom known as Mercia, while Wiltshire was a 
share or portion of Wessex. It is not necessary to enlarge 
further on this distinction, but it is well to have a correct 
idea of the origin of our counties. For many years it was 
wrongly stated that Alfred divided England into counties. 
The statement is incorrect, for we know that some of the 
counties were in existence before his time, while others 
were formed after his death. 

It may be stated here that the object of thus dividing 
our country into counties was partly military and partly 
financial. Every shire had to provide a certain number 
of armed men to fight the king's battles, and also to pay 
a certain proportion of the king's income. In each case a 
"shire-reeve," or sheriff as we now call him, was appointed 
by the king to see that the shire did its duty in both 
respects. After the Norman Conquest, the government 
of each shire was handed over to a count, and from that 
time these divisions have been called counties. 

In England the divisions or ancient counties numbered 
forty until the year 1888. Then it was decided to form 
the Administrative County of London, under the pro- 
visions of the Local Government Act of that year. It 
is to be noted that, although London is the latest of the 
forty-one counties, it is not known as an " ancient " 
county, for it was constituted an administrative area 
from parts of the ancient counties of Middlesex, Surrey, 
and Kent. Thus it comes about that London, the capital 
of the British Empire, the greatest city in the world, and 



COUNTY AND SHIRE 3 

once the capital of the county of Middlesex, is now an 
Administrative county. 

There is another London, which is often called 
" Greater London," but with that we do not propose 
to deal, as that enlarged area takes in many parishes 
and districts that are outside the boundaries of the ad- 
ministrative county, and extend into Hertfordshire and 
Essex. 

Now with regard to the name London^ there is great 
diversity of opinion as to its origin and meaning. We 
shall not, however, be wrong if, in giving some of the 
opinions on this subject, we state that the earliest historic 
monument of London is its name. The word Londinium 
first appears in Tacitus under the year a.d. 61 as that of 
an oppidum not dignified with the name of a colony, but 
celebrated for the gathering of dealers and commodities. 

It follows from this early notice that Londinium must 
have been founded long before a.d. 6i, and historians 
have come to the conclusion that the Roman oppidum was 
built on the site of an earlier Celtic village, and that the 
name Londinium is the Latinised form of Llyn-Din^ i.e. the 
lake-fort. 

Some writers have endeavoured to explain the name 
from other Welsh roots, but nothing is so uncertain as 
the origin of some place-names. Geoffrey of Monmouth 
thinks that London was called Caer-Lud after a King 
Lud of Celtic history, and even some recent writers have 
come round to this view and say that London means 
Lud's-town. This last derivation may be mere con- 
jecture, although it is in harmony with tradition. 

i — 2 




fcj t, & "i^i «s 



COUNTY AND SHIRE 5 

It may be mentioned that Geoffrey of Monmouth 
wrote early in the twelfth century, and gives a legend 
of the founding of London. This describes how Brutus 
came over from Troy and formed the plan of building a 
city. When he came to the Thames he found a site 
on its banks suitable for his purpose. There he built 
a city, calling it Troia Nova^ i.e. New Troy, which was 
afterwards corrupted into Trinovantum. As time passed 
on, King Lud built walls and towers round the city; and 
when he died, his body was buried by the gate which is 
called in the Celtic speech " Porthlud," but in the Saxon 
" Ludesgata " — our Ludgate. 

Here then we have the legend of the origin of London 
in pre-Roman days, and it may be founded on some 
genuine folk-stories of Celtic origin. At any rate, it 
explains the fact that the Roman attempt to change the 
name to Augusta completely failed, for the early name 
Llyn-din, or Caer-Lud, held its own in the affections 
of the Britons. Whatever conclusion we reach with 
regard to the origin of the name London, we feel sure 
that it was a village of some importance before the 
Roman occupation, as prehistoric and early relics are 
often found on the site. 

Thus it comes about that London has almost an 
unbroken record extending over 2000 years, and whether 
as Llyn-din, or Augusta, or Londinium, or London, 
occupies a commanding place in our country's history. 



6 WEST LONDON 

2. General Characteristics. Position 
and Natural Conditions. Why 
London is our Capital. 

There may be doubts as to the origin of London and 
the exact meaning of its name, but there can be no doubt 
as to its two thousand years of unbroken history and that 
it exerts a great fascination over the imagination of 
Englishmen. It has been well remarked that "London 
has a charm all her own ; it is that of a history as 
romantic and as interesting to Englishmen as that of 
Ancient Rome was to the Romans. As Ancient Rome 
once was, so is London now the centre of civilisation." 

In this chapter we shall first glance at some of 
the general characteristics of London, and then pass on 
to consider its position, and why it came to be chosen 
as our capital. There are people who would argue 
that London is a most unsuitable site for a capital, 
but we have to remember that it has stood the great 
practical test of centuries and has won its way to the 
foremost place against the competition of other cities that 
were officially favoured. Thus York was the chief Roman 
centre of administration, and Winchester was the chief 
town of Wessex and became the capital when the kings 
of Wessex were supreme over all England. 

It is sometimes easy to give the characteristics of a 
city or of some place of historic interest. But in dealing 
with London we have to think of at least two cities, 
round which have grown numerous towns that would 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 7 

each be considered large in the provinces. The im- 
mensity of London is so overwhelming, and its variety 
is so amazing, that we are not surprised to find how 
differently London is characterised by poets and historians. 
Wordsworth was charmed with the sight of London 




The Embankment looking Citywards from Charing Cross 



from Westminster Bridge, and in one of his sonnets 
exclaims : — 

"Earth has not anything to show more fair; 
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 
A sight so touching in its majesty"; 

Byron looked upon it as "A mighty mass of brick, and 
smoke, and shipping." A French writer calls it "a 
province in brick " ; and one of our own literary men 



8 WEST LONDON 

characterises it as " a squalid village." Heine, the great 
German writer, gives his idea of London as "a forest of 
houses, between which ebbs and flows a stream of human 
faces, with all their varied passions — an awful rush of 
love, hunger, and hate." 

There is some truth in each of these various attempts 
to give an idea of London, but of course they are all short 
of leaving the correct impression. Probably no one man 
is capable of giving a true picture of London, for there 
are so many aspects of the modern city. Its immense 
population and the strange variety of races are sure to 
have their effect on one class of observers. Others will 
be struck by the contrasts between the princely palaces of 
the rich and the filthy hovels of the poor, or between the 
magnificent squares and the squalid slums. In no other 
city in the world is there such a striking difference between 
historic buildings which date from the Conquest and the 
modern structures of stone and marble which have sup- 
planted the wooden houses of the Stuart period. 

Such, then, are a few of the most remarkable charac- 
teristics of London as it is to-day. It is not possible to 
deal further with this subject in the present book, so we 
will proceed to consider the position of London and what 
effect the choice of the site of the City by the early 
founders has had on its subsequent prosperity. 

It will be well to look at an early map of the capital 
showing the marshes on either side of the Thames. We 
shall then get some idea of what the Thames was like in 
British days. Then, the river must have looked like a 
broad lake with here and there a small island rising out 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 



9 



of the water. When the tide was high, the river was 
converted into an arm of the sea, while at low water 
it was a vast marsh through which the stream wound its 
way in irregular fashion. It has been estimated that at 




Ancient London and its Surrounding Marshes 

least half of modern London is built on this marsh, which 
extended from Fulham on the west to Greenwich on the 
east. 

In those far-off days the marsh was the resort of wild 
duck, wild geese, herons, and other water birds flying 



10 WEST LONDON 

over it in myriads. Altogether we can picture the site 
of London two thousand years ago as a dreary and desolate 
place, and one of the first questions that arises from this 
knowledge is, How came London to be founded on a 
marsh ? 

There are many reasons why London was founded 
on the present site, and if we consider a few of them it 
will help us to understand its growth and development. 
Of course we are referring to the site of London as it was 
in the time of the British founders, and at the period of 
the Roman Conquest. The evidence goes to show that 
the earliest centre of the City was on the east side of the 
Walbrook at the head of London Bridge. Now taking 
that district as the nucleus of the early city, we find that 
London was built on the first place going up the river 
where any tract of dry land touched the stream. We 
also find that it is a tract of good gravel soil, well supplied 
with water, and not liable to flooding. These were most 
important considerations in selecting the site of a city in 
those early days, just as they are at the present time. 

It will be seen that this area of good land was chosen 
on the river Thames, so that the waterway was a means 
of defence, and a highway which could be traversed both 
up and down by means of the British boats. The site 
was not very near the sea, and that fact was also an 
advantage, for the small boats of the Britons could not 
venture on the waves of the Lower Thames. There is 
no doubt that the place was founded on a site about 
60 miles from the coast, because it was not open to attack 
from the enemies who came over the sea. It is here 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 11 

'worth mentioning that London and Thames are both Celtic 
words, and are the only names remaining in this area to 
remind us of the British occupation. 

There is one other reason we may consider in this 
connection. London was placed on a tidal river, and thus 
it carried boats laden with merchandise or passengers far 
up the river to the west, and far down the river to the 
east. We may be sure that the Britons made use of 
the tide, and the Romans, who had been accustomed 
to the nearly tideless waters of the Mediterranean, soon 
learnt the value of the ebbing and flowing of the Thames. 

Thus we may conclude that the earliest site of London 
was on land about 50 feet above the level of the tide, 
and the position was admirably adapted for defence, for 
it was almost impregnable. Green, in The Making of 
England, remarks that London " sheltered to east and 
south by the lagoons of the Lea and the Thames, guarded 
to the westward by the deep cleft of the Fleet, saw 
stretching along its northern border the broad fen whose 

name has survived in our modern Moorgate The 'dun' 

was in fact the centre of a vast wilderness. Beyond the 
marshes to the east lay the forest tract of southern Essex. 
Across the lagoon to the south rose the woodlands of 
Sydenham and Forest Hill, themselves but advance guards 
of the fastnesses of the Weald. To the north the heights 
of Highgate and Hampstead were crowned with forest 
masses, through which the boar and the wild-ox wandered 
without fear of man to the days of the Plantagenets. 
Even the open country to the west was but a waste. 
It seems to have formed the border-land between two 



12 WEST LONDON 

British tribes who dwelt in Hertford and in Essex — its 
barren clays were given over to solitude by the usages of 
primeval war." 

Besides the geographical reasons that account for the 
greatness of London, there are also historical and political 
reasons for its prosperity and development. Bristol and 
Liverpool on the west, and Plymouth and Southampton 
on the south, are equally well placed, and have enjoyed 
exceptional facilities for the cultivation of foreign trade. 
But while these and other towns have been fettered by 
the action of their feudal lords, London has had no over- 
lord but the king. The City has always had rule over its 
own district, and was not controlled by any outside power. 
Thus it comes about that London has distanced all rivals, 
such as York and Winchester, and now stands without a 
peer, the capital of the British Empire and the greatest 
city of the world. 



3. Size. Boundaries. Development. 
History of Growth. London of 
the Romans, of the Saxons, of 
the Normans. Medieval London. 
Stuart London. 

As we have already seen in a former chapter, England 
was formerly divided into 40 geographical counties, but in 
1888 it was decided to form the Administrative County 
of London. The number of Geographical Counties is now 
41 ; but England is also divided by the Local Government 



SIZE BOUNDARIES DEVELOPMENT 13 

Act of 1888 into 50 Administrative Counties. Some of 
the larger counties were then divided into two or more 
portions, so that the old idea of 40 counties has become 
obsolete, and we now speak not only of Sussex and Suffolk, 
but also of East Sussex and West Sussex, of East Suffolk 
and West Suffolk. It is well to make this point quite 
clear, so that we may understand London's position as a 
county. 

Of the 41 geographical counties in England, London 
is the most recently formed, it is the most important, and 
it is the smallest in point of size. A reference to the 
diagrams at the end of the book will illustrate its area 
compared with that of England and Wales. London 
contains 74,839 acres or 116*9 square miles, and is thus 
about -jl^ of England and Wales. The heart of the 
county is called the City of London, and this is about 
one square mile in area. 

A glance at the map of the County of London will 
show that it is an irregularly-shaped area divided into two 
unequal parts by the many windings of the river Thames : 
the northern portion is entirely formed from Middlesex, 
while the southern portion has been taken from both 
Surrey and Kent. The northern portion contains about 
two-fifths of the entire area, but it is in many respects 
the more important of the two divisions. 

The length of the county measured from Hammer- 
smith on the west to Plumstead on the east is about 
17 miles, while the breadth from Holloway in the north 
to Streatham in the south is about 1 1 miles. It will be 
noticed that there is a small portion of the county on the 



14 WEST LONDON 

Essex side of the Thames. This is known as North 
Woolwich, and before 1888 this district was part of Kent 
although it is actually in the county of Essex. 

Except on the east side, where it is bounded for 
some miles by the river Lea, the boundaries are not 
physical. Middlesex forms the boundary on the north 
and partly on the west, while Surrey bounds it partly on 
the west and south, and Kent partly on the south and east. 

Before we go further, it will be well to understand 
that the present volume on the western portion of London 
includes all the district west of the boroughs of Islington, 
Finsbury, City of London, Southwark, and Camberwell, 
and has an area of 33,070 acres. This western portion 
of London comprises 13 out of the 29 boroughs into 
which the county is divided. Ten boroughs in the 
western portion are on the north of the Thames, and the 
remaining three lie south of that river. The southern 
portion is much larger than the northern portion, although 
it is not so important, for we must always remember that, 
for many centuries, London as a city was only built on 
the north bank of the Thames. 

The line of division that is chosen for this volume is 
purely arbitrary, and is merely for purposes of convenience. 
In the eastern portion we get the City of London with 
its surrounding boroughs, and in the western portion 
we have the City of Westminster and its neighbouring 
boroughs. Lewisham in the western portion, and Wool- 
wich in the eastern portion, are the largest boroughs ; 
and Holborn in the western, and Finsbury in the eastern, 
are the smallest. 



SIZE BOUNDARIES DEVELOPMENT 15 

Having given these facts and figures relating to the 
size of the present County of London, we may briefly 
glance at a little history as to its growth and development 
from the earliest times. It would be quite impossible 
within the limits of this book to go into details ; but we 
can give a few ideas as to its size and condition at three 
or four turning points in its history. 

In British times we must fall back on conjecture, but 
we have also the aid of geography and geology. The 
foundations of the facts that prove the condition of the 
earliest London are the waste, marshy ground, with little 
hills rising from the plains, and the dense forest to the 
north. The position of the town on the Thames proves 
the wisdom of those who chose the site, although the 
frequent overflowing of the river must have hindered its 
progress. 

Under the Romans, the city became the chief residence 
of merchants and the great mart of trade. The Romans 
probably built a fort where the Tower now stands, and 
afterwards the walls surrounding the town were erected. 
Then Londinium took its proper place among the Roman 
cities of Britain, for it was on the high road to York and 
the starting-point of most of the Roman roads in Britain. 
The two chief events in the history of Roman London 
are the building of the bridge and the building of the 
wall. The exact date of the building of the wall cannot 
be given, but we know that in 350 a.d. it did not exist, 
while in 368 a.d. the town with its villas, its gardens, 
and its township was enclosed. A reference to the 
map will show the circuit of the wall, with its gates and 




C ^ 
.£5 12 



SIZE BOUNDARIES DEVELOPMENT 17 

forts. London within the wall occupied an area of about 
380 acres, and was about 3 J miles in circumference. This 
Roman wall round London was of the utmost importance 
in the history of the city, and even to this day it forms in 
part the City boundary. 

When the Roman legions left Britain, London had a 
very mixed population of traders. The inhabitants were 
defenceless and at the mercy of the invader. The Saxons 
conquered the eastern portion of England, and named it 
Essex. London became the capital of the East-Saxon 
kingdom. Saxon London was a wooden city, surrounded 
by walls, which probably marked the same enclosure as 
the Roman city. In the seventh century the city had 
become a prosperous place, and was peopled by merchants 
of many nations. It was a free trading town, and was 
also the great mart of slaves. In the eighth and ninth 
centuries it was frequently harried and laid waste by the 
Danes, but the great turning-point in its history was in 
886 a.d., when King Alfred restored it and introduced a 
garrison of men for its defence. From this year to the 
present time London has;been in the front rank of our 
cities, and at the Norman Conquest it became, without 
a rival, the capital of England. The further growth 
and development of the city were now very marked, and 
William I granted a charter to William the Bishop, and 
Gosfrith the Portreeve, who is supposed to be Geoffrey 
de Mandeville. 

If we want to get further particulars of the growth of 
London, we must refer to the literature of the fourteenth 
and subsequent centuries. London places are frequently 

B. W. L. 2 



18 



WEST LONDON 



mentioned in Piers Plowman ; while Hoccleve, Gower, 
Lydgate, and Chaucer are invaluable to the student of 
early London life. The London Lickpenny, a work often 
attributed to Lydgate, is a valuable record of London 




A Party of Pilgrims 
{From a MS in the British Museum) 

life at the end of the fourteenth century. In it are related 
the adventures of a poor Kentish man who went to 
London in search of justice, but could not find it for lack 
of money. Chaucer gives us many pictures of the London 
of his day, and the portraits of the pilgrims in the Prologue 



SIZE BOUNDARIES DEVELOPMENT 19 

to the Canterbury Tales show us the men and women 
who were to be seen daily in the streets of London. 

When we come down to the Stuart period, we find 
that London had about 150,000 people in the reign of 
James I, and in the reign of Charles II we are told that 
" the trade and very City of London removes westward, 
and the walled City is but one-fifth of the whole pile." 
Lord Macaulay made a special study of the state of 
London in 1685, and the following extract from his 
History of England gives a very picturesque account of 
the condition of the City more than two hundred years 
ago. He writes thus : — " Whoever examines the maps 
of London which were published towards the close of 
the reign of Charles the Second will see that only the 
nucleus of the present capital then existed. The town 
did not, as now, fade by imperceptible degrees into the 
country. No long avenues of villas, embowered in lilacs 
and laburnums, extended from the great centre of wealth 
and civilisation almost to the boundaries of Middlesex, and 
far into the heart of Kent and Surrey. In the east no 
part of the immense line of warehouses and artificial lakes 
which now stretches from the Tower to Blackheath had 
been projected. On the west, scarcely one of those stately 
piles of building which are inhabited by the noble and 
wealthy was in existence; and Chelsea... was a quiet 
country village with about a thousand inhabitants. On 
the north cattle fed, and sportsmen wandered with dogs 
and guns over the site of the borough of Marylebone, and 
over far the greater part of the space now covered by... 
Finsbury and the Tower Hamlets. Islington was almost 

2 — 2 



20 WEST LONDON 

a solitude ; and poets loved to contrast its silence and 
repose with the din and turmoil of the monster London. 
On the south the capital is now connected with its suburb 
by several bridges, not inferior in magnificence and solidity 
to the noblest works of the Caesars. In 1685, a single 
line of irregular arches, overhung by piles of mean and 
crazy houses, and garnished, after a fashion worthy of the 
naked barbarians of Dahomey, with scores of mouldering 
heads, impeded the navigation of the river." 

Lord Macaulay wrote this interesting sketch of Stuart 
London more than 60 years ago, when the population of 
the metropolis was under two millions. Since Macaulay's 
time London has increased enormously both in area and 
population, and the contrast between the early Victorian 
London and that of to-day is almost as striking as that 
drawn by the great Whig historian. Although a term has 
been put on its extent by the Act of 1888, its popula- 
tion has increased and, as we shall see in subsequent 
chapters, its development in trade and commerce is also 
progressive. 



4. London Parks, Commons, and Open 
Spaces in the N.W. and S.W. 

If we look at any map of London showing the parks, 
commons, and open spaces within its boundaries we shall 
at once realise that Londoners are very fortunate in being 
so well provided with municipal "lungs." The first idea 
of many people who do not know London is that the 



LONDON PARKS COMMONS 21 

Metropolis is nothing more than a wilderness of brick and 
mortar. This, we shall find, is far from being true ; and 
probably no other capital in the world has such extensive 
breathing spaces for its people as ours. The finest and 
largest parks are, as we might expect, in the western 
portion of the county; but we must remember that the 
people in the north-east have Epping Forest, which, 
although in Essex, is yet maintained by the City Cor- 
poration and is known as London's Playground. 

Now first we will endeavour to get a good idea of the 
extent of London's parks and open spaces; then we will 
consider some of their characteristics ; and finally we will 
pass in review those that are situated in the western portion 
of the County of London. 

The parks, commons, and open spaces within the 
County of London have an extent of 6588 acres, of 
8*8 per cent, of the entire area. They are owned and 
maintained by the Government, the City Corporation, 
the London County Council, the various Borough 
Councils, the Conservators of Putney and Wimbledon 
Commons, the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association, 
and various other public bodies and persons. The London 
County Council and the City Corporation also own and 
maintain forests, parks, and open spaces outside the county, 
and in some instances we shall specially refer to them. 
The Government own and maintain Hyde Park, 
St James's Park, the Green Park, Kensington Gardens, 
Regent's Park, Greenwich Park, Woolwich Common, and 
other smaller spaces. The City Corporation own and 
maintain Highgate Wood, Queen's Park, Kilburn, within 



LONDON PARKS COMMONS 23 

the county, and Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and 
West Ham Park outside the county. The London 
County Council are responsible for Battersea Park, 
Bostall Heath and Woods, Brockwell Park, Clapham 
Common, Hackney Marsh, Hampstead Heath, Victoria 
Park, Tooting Common, Wandsworth Common, Streat- 
ham Common, Wormwood Scrubs, and many other open 
tracts. It recently came into possession of Hainault 
Forest, a most beautiful piece of woodland in Essex ; and 
not a year passes without one or more parks and open 
spaces either being presented to the public or bought by 
the London County Council. The various Borough 
Councils maintain such open spaces as disused burial 
grounds, recreation grounds, gardens in squares, and small 
commons. 

We can realise what a boon all these parks and open 
spaces must be to London when we remember that many 
Londoners can never get far away from their place of 
work or home all the year round. To thousands of men, 
women, and children the parks and open spaces in the 
great city afford their only place of recreation and give 
them some idea of what the country is like. It has been 
a great advantage to London to have these open spaces 
for public resort, for there is no doubt that through them 
the love of Londoners for flowers and birds has been de- 
veloped. Although Englishmen have not often been in the 
front rank as great architects, there is no doubt that they 
have gained a reputation as landscape gardeners ; and in 
our London parks we may see some good examples of 
landscape gardening. It has been the aim of those who 



24 WEST LONDON 

laid out the parks to make them as natural as possible. 
A walk in Regent's Park or Kensington Gardens will at 
once show what beautiful tracts of woodland they are, and 
what care has been displayed in preserving their natural 
characteristics. In most of the parks, certain portions 
have been laid out as flower gardens, and the varied 
colours of the tastefully-arranged beds form charming 
pictures. Besides the finest trees and beautiful flowers, 
the Parks also have the great attraction of bird life, but of 
that we shall read in another chapter. 

In some of the London parks, perhaps, there has been 
a tendency to make too many straight rows and formal 
walks, but this cannot be said of the commons, or of such 
a tract as Hampstead Heath. The commons have a 
distinct charm in their natural beauty and in their freedom, 
as opposed to the artificial character and restrictions of 
some of the parks. These commons are also part of the 
history of the county, and take us back to the time when 
the land was tilled in common. Not many years ago, 
there was a desire to build over these commons ; but of 
late a better spirit is abroad, and now every effort is made 
for the preservation of open spaces in and around London. 

In this western portion of the County of London we 
find the following are the largest open spaces north of 
the Thames : — Golder's Hill, Hampstead Heath, Parlia- 
ment Hill, Ravenscourt Park, Waterlow Park, and 
Wormwood Scrubs ; and south of the Thames : — Batter- 
sea Park, Brockwell Park, Clapham Common, Streatham 
Common, Tooting Common, and Wandsworth Common. 
These are all under the management of the London 



LONDON PARKS COMMONS 25 

County Council, and we will devote the remainder of 
this chapter to a brief review of them. The parks owned 
and maintained by the Government will be considered in 
the next chapter. 

Golder's Hill is a picturesque park of 36 acres, ad- 
joining Hampstead Heath. The grounds have stately 
trees and some fine specimen shrubs. Near the mansion 
is a small lake with water-lilies, affording a quiet retreat 
for moorhens and other waterfowl. A little stream 
runs through a valley whose sloping banks are covered 
with grasses and wild flowers. A portion of this valley 
has been set apart for some red-deer, while another en- 
closure is reserved for the pea-fowl and an emu. 

Hampstead Heath is regarded as the finest of London 
playgrounds, and at holiday times it is visited by many 
thousands of people. It has a fine position on the north- 
western heights of the county, and covers an area of 240 
acres. It was acquired in 1871 after much agitation and 
discussion in the law courts, and was dedicated to the 
public in the following year. It is very undulating in 
character, and the portions which are covered with gorse 
and undergrowth are very picturesque. The most famous 
view is from Spaniards-road, which crosses the Heath 
at its highest point. Hampstead Heath is well supplied 
with water, and the various ponds are used for bathing, 
fishing, and model-yacht sailing. At various parts en- 
closures and plantations have been formed as sanctuaries 
for bird life. 

Parliament Hill and Fields adjoin Hampstead Heath, 
and the surroundings of this fine open space of 267 



LONDON PARKS COMMONS 27 

acres are very beautiful. It has been thought by some 
writers that the name Parliament Hill suggests that the 
place was formerly used for the meeting of the folk-moot. 
There is a tumulus known locally as the Tomb of 
Boadicea. This, however, was more probably raised by 
the Romans as a boundary mark. 

Ravenscourt Park is at the western end of Hammer- 
smith and contains an ornamental lake, and an avenue of 




Parliament Hill, Hampstead 

stately elms. A walled garden has been laid out with old 
English flowers and forms a quiet retreat. 

Waterlow Park of 26 acres, on the southern slope of 
Highgate Hill, was for many years the home of Sir Sydney 
Waterlow, who gave it to the London County Council 
for a public park. The park is undulating, and has old 
cedars and many other well-grown trees and shrubs. Animal 



28 WEST LONDON 

and bird life is encouraged, and the old English garden is 
always gay with flowers. This park has interesting his- 
torical associations, and Lauderdale House, which has been 
restored, dates from the seventeenth century. It takes its 
name from the Earl of Lauderdale who lived here, and 
there is a tradition that for some time it was the residence 
of Nell Gwynn. 

Wormwood Scrubs is a great common, 193 acres in 
area, on the western border of the county. Part of it 
is used for military purposes, and is divided from the 
portion to which the public have free access by a belt of 
trees. 

Battersea Park has an area of nearly 200 acres, and is 
the largest municipal park of London. It is on the right 
bank of the Thames between the Chelsea and Albert 
Bridges, and was formed by the Government in 1846 from 
Old Battersea Fields, a low-lying marshy tract. The 
chief feature of the park is the sub-tropical garden, which 
is planted in the summer months with palms and other 
similar plants. Another portion of the park has been 
planted with examples of the commoner natural orders 
for botanical study, and adjoining this is a garden where 
an attempt has been made to naturalise some of the 
hardier wild flowers. There is an enclosure for deer, 
and a small shelter for owls; while on the lake will be 
found many varieties of water-fowl. The river frontage 
of the park is about three-quarters of a mile in length, 
and affords a promenade with views of Chelsea on the 
other side of the river. 

Brockwell Park occupies the slope of a hill rising 



LONDON PARKS COMMONS 



29 



from the Norwood and Dulwich Roads to Tulse Hill. 
Its charm is due to its natural beauties, although much 
has been done to make it useful to the residents in the 
neighbourhood. The Old Garden was formerly the 
kitchen garden of the mansion, and is now surrounded 
by high walls covered with roses and other flowering 
creepers. The garden is laid out in the formal geometric 




The Lake : Battersea Park 



style, and the old-fashioned herbs and plants, the quaint 
sun-dial, and the picturesque well and bucket give the 
impression of a typical old-world garden. Near the house 
there is an aviary stocked with pea-fowl, pheasants, doves, 
and squirrels. 

Clapham Common of 220 acres is fairly level, and 
is much used for games. Streatham Common is situated 



30 WEST LONDON 

at the southern extremity of the county, and from its 
higher ridges fine views of the surrounding country are 
obtained. The upper part of the common is covered 
with gorse, brambles, and other undergrowth, and being 
undulating is one of the most picturesque places in the 
south of London. 

Tooting Common really consists of two commons — 
Tooting Bee and Tooting Graveney — which are sepa- 
rated by an avenue of fine trees. It is a large open space 
of 217 acres, but suffers from being cut up into three 
separate areas by railway lines. 

Wandsworth Common has an area of 183 acres, and 
forms a small portion of the extensive waste lands that 
formerly belonged to the large manor of Battersea and 
Wandsworth. Although it is much intersected by roads 
and railways, the common has many attractions. A good 
deal of planting has recently taken place, and the old 
gravel pits have been utilised for the formation of a sheet 
of water. 



5. The Royal Parks— St James's Park. 
The Green Park. Hyde Park. 
Kensington Gardens. Regent's 
Park. 

West London has a larger area of open spaces 
and parks than East London, so it is necessary to give 
an additional chapter on the Royal Parks which are 



THE ROYAL PARKS 31 

owned and maintained by the Government. Westmin- 
ster has the whole of St James's Park, the Green Park, and 
Hyde Park; while Kensington Gardens are divided among 
Kensington, Paddington, and Westminster. Regent's 
Park is in the boroughs of Hampstead, St Marylebone, 
and St Pancras. 

St James's Park is the most beautiful and aristocratic 
of the London Parks, for round it are the royal palaces 
and some of the finest houses. An eminent French writer 
describes St James's Park as a genuine piece of country, 
and of English country ; with huge old trees, real 
meadows, and a large pond peopled with ducks and water- 
fowl; while cows and sheep feed on the grass, which is 
always fresh. Henry VIII first formed it from a marshy 
meadow belonging to the Hospital for Lepers. It was 
replanted and beautified by Charles II, and finally arranged 
by George IV much as we see it to-day. 

On the north side of the park is the Mall, the ancient 
fashionable promenade of London before Rotten Row 
became the mode. The Mall has been recently re-con- 
structed in connection with the Queen Victoria Memorial. 
It is now 200 feet wide, of which space 65 feet in the 
centre are devoted to the Processional Road from Tra- 
falgar Square to Buckingham Palace. At the eastern end 
it is entered by a fine triple arch designed by Sir Aston 
Webb. 

St James's Park has charming views of the public 
buildings at Westminster, and seen through the trees one 
has glimpses of the grey old Abbey, of 

"Cloud-capt towers and gorgeous palaces." 



32 WEST LONDON 

The park is of special interest to the lover of birds, for 
the lake is the haunt of a large collection of water- 
fowl of many species, whose breeding ground is Duck 
Island. 

This beautiful park has many historical memories. 
Charles I, attended by Bishop Juxon and a regiment of 




The Queen Victoria Memorial 

foot, walked on January 30, 1648-9 through the park 
from St James's Palace to the scaffold at Whitehall. In 
this park, Cromwell took Whitelocke aside and sounded 
him on the subject of a King Oliver. Some of the trees, 
planted and watered by Charles II, were acorns from the 
royal oak at Boscobel ; and the Merry Monarch kept a 
menagerie and some aviaries in Birdcage Walk, the road 



THE ROYAL PARKS 33 

which borders the Park on the south. It was a favourite 
pastime of Charles II to come here with his dogs and feed 
his ducks. x 

The Queen Victoria Memorial is at the west end of 
St James's Park. It is a large semi-circle laid out as 
an ornamental garden, with architectural and sculptured 
additions. The central object is the fine monument of 
the Queen by Sir Thomas Brock, R.A., which is visible 
from the extreme east end of the Processional Road. 

The Green Park is an open area of 53 acres between 
St James's Park and Piccadilly. Its name well describes 
the park, for it consists of pleasant greensward, with some 
shrubberies and flower-beds. In the time of James I 
much of the area covered by this park was a farm, and 
it was reduced in size by George III, who annexed part 
of it to add to the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The 
road connecting St James's Park with Hyde Park and 
skirting the garden wall of Buckingham Palace is known 
as Constitution Hill. Near the upper end of this road, 
Sir Robert Peel was thrown from his horse and killed ; 
and in this road Queen Victoria was fired at on three 
occasions. 

Hyde Park is reached from the Green Park by 
crossing Piccadilly. It is one of London's great lungs, 
and has an area of 364 acres. The park is entered 
from Piccadilly by a triple archway designed by Decimus 
Burton, and erected in 1828. The name is derived from 
the Hyde, an ancient manor of that name, which belonged 
to the abbots and monks of Westminster till the dissolu- 
tion of the religious houses by Henry VIII. It then 

b. w. l. 3 



34 WEST LONDON 

became the property of the Crown, and for much of its 
present beauty it is indebted to William III and Caroline, 
wife of George II. It was Queen Caroline who formed 
the sheet of water called the Serpentine, and the carriage 
drive along the north bank is called the " Lady's Mile." 
The bridle road running from Apsley House to Ken- 
sington Gardens is Rotten Row, probably a corruption 




Hyde Park, the Serpentine 

of Route du Roi — King's Drive. The flower-beds are 
always an attraction, and the rhododendron show in June 
is specially famous. The entrance to the park from 
Oxford Street was by the Marble Arch, which was moved 
from Buckingham Palace in 1851, and re-erected here. 
It is a triumphal arch in the style of the Roman Arch 
of Constantine, and its bronze gates are admirable. 



THE ROYAL PARKS 



35 



Recently it has been found necessary to make an open 
space around the Marble Arch, and this has been done by 
setting back the Park entrances. Now the Marble Arch 
is quite isolated and meaningless, for it is no longer the 
entrance to the Park. 

In 1 85 1, the Crystal Palace, or Great Exhibition 
Building, covered nearly 19 acres on the south side of 




The Broad Walk, Kensington Gardens 



Hyde Park, and near its site rises the Albert Memorial, 
the national monument to the Prince Consort. It is a 
gothic cross or canopy designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, and 
its spire reaches a height of 175 feet. An enormous 
amount of money — £120,000 — was lavished on it, but 
its success as a work of art is much questioned. 

Kensington Gardens are continuous with Hyde Park, 

3—2 • 



36 WEST LONDON 

but there is a great difference between them, for the 
Gardens are more rural and have much finer trees. A 
recent writer on London well says that Kensington 
Gardens are a paradise of lovely sylvan glades and 
avenues, hardly less picturesque than St James's Park. 
Many other writers have paid their tribute to these 
gardens. Matthew Arnold felt their charm, and in one 
of his sonnets he writes : — 

"in this lone, open glade I lie, 

Screen'd by deep boughs on either hand; 
And at its end, to stay the eye, 

Those black-crowned, red-boled pine trees stand." 

Kensington Gardens were laid out in the reign of 
William III, and originally consisted of only 26 acres. 
Other monarchs have added to them, and now they 
have an area of 275 acres. The bridge over the 
Serpentine separating the Gardens from the Park was 
designed by Rennie, and erected in 1826. Adjoining 
Kensington Gardens on the west is Kensington Palace, 
of interest as a royal residence, and specially noteworthy 
as the birthplace of Queen Victoria. 

Regent's Park is the largest of the London parks, 
being 472 acres in extent. It is part of old Marylebone 
Farm and Fields, and was laid out in 181 2 from the 
plans of Mr John Nash. The Park derives its name 
from the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV, who 
intended building a residence here, and Regent Street 
was designed as a communication from it to Carlton 
House. Pleasant paths run in every direction over 
Regent's Park, and the two principal roads, the only 



THE ROYAL PARKS 



37 



carriage drives, are called the Outer and the Inner 
Circle. The former, two miles in length, encircles the 
park, while the latter, in the middle of it, encloses the 
Botanical Gardens. These are very pretty, and in May 
and June large flower-shows are held in them. They 
have attached to them an interesting museum and 




Regent's Park 



collections of orchids and sea-weeds. The chief road 
in the Park for pedestrians is the charming Broad Walk, 
which extends from Park Square on the south to 
Primrose Hill on the north. It is bordered with trees, 
and the southern portion is laid out with beds of flowers. 
The lake in the western half of the park is picturesque 
and has numerous water-fowl. The chief attraction of 



38 WEST LONDON 

Regent's Park is in the Zoological Gardens, the most 
complete in the world. The Zoological Society was 
founded in 1826, mainly by Sir Humphry Davy and 
Sir Stamford Raffles, and the present Gardens were 
opened in 1828. Darwin and Huxley studied here, 
and the Gardens now contain a very full series of 
vertebrate animals. On the east side of the park is St 
Katherine's Hospital, with its chapel. Founded centuries 
ago, it stood originally near the Tower, but was removed 
here in 1827, to make room for St Katherine's Docks. 
Separated from Regent's Park by two roads and the canal 
rises Primrose Hill, which has been planted and laid out 
with walks. From its summit may be gained extensive 
views over London. 



6. The River Thames. The Embank= 
ment. TheWandle. The Bridges. 

In an early chapter we read that London was founded 
on a site about 60 miles from the coast, and we also learnt 
that " London " and " Thames " are the only Celtic 
words remaining in this area to remind us of the British 
occupation of our country. Now, as the Thames has 
played such an important part in the growth and develop- 
ment of London, it will be necessary to devote a little 
time to the study of this, our greatest river. A recent 
writer has said that " The river has made London, and 
London has acknowledged its obligations to the Thames. 
It was the Silent Highway along which the chief traffic 



THE RIVER THAMES 39 

of the City passed during the Middle Ages.... The river 
continued to be the Silent Highway until the nineteenth 
century, when it lost its high position. With the con- 
struction of the Thames Embankment the river again 
took its proper place as the centre of London, but it did 
not again become its main artery." 

The Thames, indeed, with its tides and its broad 
shining waters, has always been the source of London's 
wealth, and has been well named by one poet " Father 
Thames," and by another writer the "Parent of London." 
Throughout our history and literature the Thames plays 
a prominent part, and we shall find in the pages of this 
volume many references to it. With English poets it 
has been a favourite theme, and we find such expressions 
as u The silver-streaming Thames " of frequent occur- 
rence, while Denham has sung its praises in some noble 
couplets : — 

"O could I flow like thee, and make thy stream 
My great example as it is my theme : 
Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull, 
Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full." 
The watermen of London were long famous, and 
many were the sports on the Thames that gave colour to 
the life of Londoners. There are many records of the 
Thames being frozen over in severe winters, and some of 
the Frost Fairs on the ice were of considerable duration. 
One of London's historians of the sixteenth century gives 
us some idea of the plentifulness of the fish caught in the 
Thames by London. " What should I speak," says 
Harrison in 1586, u of the fat and sweet salmons, daily 



- • - 





* ! % 








^ >**« ¥/ 




^S mml 1 






1 


i =* / -^' 



THE RIVER THAMES 41 

taken in this stream, and that in such plentie as no river 
in Europe is able to exceed it?" The first salmon of the 
season was generally carried to the King's table by the 
fishermen of the Thames. A sturgeon caught below 
London Bridge was carried to the table of the Lord 
Mayor ; if above bridge, to the table of the King or Lord 
High Admiral. 

London has had great pageants on its river, and in 
Stuart times the Dutch ships were brought on its stream 
almost within gunshot of the Tower. Queen Elizabeth 
died at Richmond, and her body was brought in great 
pomp by water to Whitehall. Nelson's body, too, was 
carried in great state by water from Greenwich to White- 
hall. Many a state prisoner, committed from the Council 
Chamber to the Tower, was taken by water : and we all 
remember that striking scene in our history, when the 
Seven Bishops were carried by the Thames to the Tower. 
Almost as a sequel to the last event, James II himself fled 
from London by water, and, in his flight, threw the Great 
Seal of England into the Thames. 

Such, then, are a few of the historic landmarks which 
draw our attention to the river that has made London the 
capital of the British Empire. 

It will be seen by a reference to the map that the 
Thames divides London into two unequal portions. It is 
navigable and tidal throughout its course through London ; 
and from its source in the Cotswold Hills to the Nore the 
direct length is 120 miles, although with the windings it 
is probably 220 miles in length. 

The Thames, or Tamesis as it was once called, is the 



THE RIVER THAMES 43 

earliest British river mentioned in Roman history. Its 
name, as we have seen, is of Celtic origin, and its derivation 
is probably the same as that of the Tame, the Teme, and 
the Tamar in other parts of England. The upper part 
of the main stream is often called the Isis, and not the 
Thames, until it has received the waters of the Thame 
near Dorchester in Oxfordshire. In its upper course it 
passes through some of our finest agricultural country, 
while below London Bridge it is one of the most im- 
portant commercial highways in the world. The Thames 
begins to feel the tide at Teddington, and from there to 
the Nore, a distance of 681 miles, the tide ebbs and flows 
four times in the day. The force of the tide is very 
great, and its power can be seen at Blackfriars Bridge, 
where the water swirls round the piers and rushes through 
the arches like a mill-race. 

The Thames enters the County of London at Ham- 
mersmith, where a bridge crosses the river to Barnes 
on the right bank. From this bridge westwards, almost 
to Chiswick, the riverside is known as the Lower Mall, 
and the Upper Mall. Some of the old houses along this 
portion of the Thames are now the headquarters of 
boating and sailing clubs. The Lower Mall is separated 
from the Upper Mall by a little creek spanned by a 
wooden foot-bridge. Near this is " The Doves," a little 
old-fashioned inn, but formerly a coffee-house, where the 
poet Thomson is said to have written his Winter. On 
the western side of the Lower Mall is Kelmscott 
House, intimately associated with William Morris, poet, 
craftsman, and socialist. Morris named his house on the 



44 



WEST LONDON 



Upper Mall after his residence on the Upper Thames. 
Mr Mackail, in his Life of Morris, says that "the 




The Doves 



hundred and thirty miles of stream between the two 
houses were a real as well as an imaginative link between 



THE RIVER THAMES 45 

them. He liked to think that the water which ran under 
his windows at Hammersmith had passed the meadows 
and gray gables of Kelmscott; and more than once a 
party of summer voyagers went from one house to the 
other, embarking at their own door in London, and 
disembarking; in their own meadow at Kelmscott." 

From Hammersmith Bridge the Thames bends and 
makes a semi-circular curve in which Fulham is enclosed. 
On the right bank are the West Middlesex Reservoirs 
and the grounds of the Ranelagh Club. On the left bank 
are Fulham Palace and Bishop's Park, and a little to the 
east the Thames is spanned by Putney Bridge. Putney 
is the headquarters of many rowing clubs and presents 
a scene of great activity in the season. It is also the 
starting-point of the race which is rowed every year 
between Oxford and Cambridge. The Boat Race as it is 
always called, without further definition, has been rowed 
since 1839, and is one of our national institutions. 

A little distance eastward of Putney Bridge, by the 
riverside, is Hurlingham House, with spacious grounds, 
beautiful gardens, and a lake of four acres. Here it is 
that the Hurlingham Club has its polo, tennis, and 
other sports, which attract large numbers of the upper 
classes in the season. Before the river turns north it is 
crossed by Wandsworth Bridge, and onwards to Battersea 
Bridge this section of the river is known as Battersea 
Reach. On the left bank there is Chelsea with its 
Embankment and its avenue of plane trees, and the 
Royal Hospital, one of the most stately of Wren's build- 
ings. Across the river is the greenery of Battersea Park, 




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THE RIVER THAMES 47 

which is the finest of the south London open spaces. 
Before Vauxhall Bridge is reached we see a Floating 
Fire Brigade Station close to the left bank. The river 
now runs to the north as far as Charing Cross Bridge, 
and on the right bank the Albert Embankment extends 
from Lambeth Bridge to Westminster Bridge, and has 
converted the river front into a fine promenade. On 
the Lambeth side there is Lambeth Palace with its 
square castellated towers of brick, which have toned to 
a lovely dull deep red ; and St Thomas's Hospital with 
its seven great blocks connected by arcades. On the 
Westminster side there are the National Gallery of British 
Art (better known as the Tate Gallery), the Abbey, and 
the Houses of Parliament. 

At the head of the long flight of steps leading down 
to the Thames at the Westminster end of the Victoria 
Embankment is Thornycroft's " Boadicea," a spirited 
statue of the British Queen and her daughters in a 
scythed chariot. The Thames Embankment extends 
from Westminster Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge, and is 
one of the greatest London improvements in the nine- 
teenth century. This work, begun in 1864 and not 
completed till 1870, was planned by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. 
Now the Victoria Embankment is one of London's 
finest thoroughfares, and on the landward side has stately 
public buildings, such as Scotland Yard and Somerset 
House, fine hotels, well-planned gardens with statues 
of great men, and the historic Temple buildings. 
Between Charing Cross Railway Bridge and Waterloo 
Bridge, which have been styled the ugliest and the 




m - 



The Statue of Boadicea on the Thames Embankmen 



THE RIVER THAMES 



49 



handsomest of the London bridges, there stretches the 
finest of the Embankment Gardens, and in their north- 




The Water Gate, Embankment Gardens 



west corner is the Water Gate of York House, a London 

relic of singular interest and charm. It is variously 

b. w. l. 4 



50 WEST LONDON 

attributed to Inigo Jones and Nicholas Stone, and its 
presence helps us to realise what a difference has been 
made to the river by the Embankment, for it is now 
several hundred feet from the river, whose waters once 
reached the steps at its base. Here it was that the 
Thames watermen, in top hats and full-skirted red coats, 
used to land passengers from their great barges. Between 
the river and the gardens is Cleopatra's Needle, a red 
granite monolith with its mystic emblems carved by 
Egyptian sculptors more than 3000 years ago. 

The right bank of the Thames from Westminster to 
Blackfriars Bridge has little of interest. The lofty Shot 
Tower rises amid wharves and riverside buildings which 
are in marked contrast to the fine buildings along the left 
bank. What strikes one most is the life on the river, 
which seems ever on the move, with its numerous coal 
barges and every kind of river craft. The eastern section 
of the Thames, from the City boundary to the point at 
Woolwich where it ceases to be a river of the County 
of London, belongs to the volume on East London, which 
also deals with the Port of London. 

There is one little tributary of the Thames on the 
right bank which may be noticed here, before we con- 
sider the bridges. The Wandle, which rises near Croydon 
in Surrey, flows eastward by Beddington and Carshalton, 
and then northward past Morden, Merton, and Tooting 
to Wandsworth, to which place it gives its name. Here 
it enters the Thames after a course of about ten miles. 
It is worth noting that calico-bleaching and printing were 
formerly carried on along this little river Wandle, and 



THE RIVER THAMES 51 

that at Wandsworth there were numerous factories for 
this purpose. 

The Thames as it flows through the County of 
London is crossed by many fine bridges, from Hammer- 
smith Bridge in the west to the Tower Bridge in the 
east. And yet less than two centuries ago London 
Bridge was the only bridge over the Thames in London. 
It is still the most important, for it connects the City, 
the centre of London's business, with Southwark on the 
Surrey side of the Thames. London Bridge, Blackfriars 
Bridge, Southwark Bridge, and the Tower Bridge are 
maintained by the City Corporation and fall within the 
volume that deals with East London. In this chapter 
we will consider the bridges to the west of Blackfriars 
Bridge, all of which are maintained by the London 
County Council. 

Beginning at the extreme west, Hammersmith Bridge 
is the first that claims our attention. It is an iron 
suspension bridge, with a span of 400 feet, and connects 
Hammersmith with Barnes. It was completed in 1885, 
and superseded the original bridge of 1827. 

Putney Bridge is a handsome structure of granite 
which was opened in 1886. It displaced an old wooden 
structure of 1729 which had superseded the ferry. The 
present bridge was designed by Sir J. Bazalgette who was 
the engineer for the Thames Embankment. 

Wandsworth Bridge merely requires to be mentioned. 
Chelsea Bridge was built in 1858 on the suspension prin- 
ciple by Thomas Page, and is considered the most graceful 
of recent Thames bridges. The Albert Bridge was opened 

4—2 



52 WEST LONDON 

in 1873, and Battersea Bridge in 1890 took the place of 
a picturesque old wooden bridge which had superseded 
the ancient ferry at this spot. 

Vauxhall Bridge, the work of Mr Fitzmaurice, is a 
structure of iron and steel. It was opened in 1906, as 
the successor of an old bridge which had done duty since 
1 816. Lambeth Bridge is narrow and mean-looking, and 
was built for a company in 1 862-3. References are often 
found in old writers to Lambeth Bridge, but that was 
simply a landing place, for, until the present bridge was 
opened, the only way of crossing the river at this point 
to Westminster was by ferry — the old Horseferry. 

Westminster Bridge is one of the finest bridges in 
London. It has seven arches of iron resting on granite 
piers, which are 30 feet below low water. The parapets 
and ornamental portions were designed to harmonise with 
the Houses of Parliament, and the roadway is said to be 
wider than that over any other bridge in the world. 
This handsome structure, built from designs made by 
Mr T. Page, was opened in 1863. The bridge commands 
a fine view of the Houses of Parliament, and of St 
Thomas's Hospital. The earlier bridge was the first 
bridge over the Thames at Westminster, and was opened 
in 1750. 

Charing Cross Bridge carries the South Eastern and 
Chatham Railway across the Thames. It was designed 
by Sir John Hawkshaw and took the place of Hungerford 
Suspension Bridge, which, after standing here for some 
years, was removed in 1863 to Clifton near Bristol, 
where it forms a striking object. The bridge at Charing 



54 WEST LONDON 

Cross is a disfigurement to the Embankment, and its 
massive iron pillars have caused it to be called the ugliest 
bridge in London. One of Whistler's most noteworthy 
etchings is of this bridge. 

Waterloo Bridge, the work of the elder Rennie, was 
considered by Canova the noblest in the world. It was 
begun in 1811, and opened in 181 7, on the second anni- 
versary of the battle of Waterloo from which it takes its 
name. It is of granite, with nine semi-elliptical arches, 
of which the most northerly stretches across the Embank- 
ment. 



7. Rivers of the Past. The West= 
bourne and the Tybourne, or 
Tyburn. 

We may now proceed to consider the rivers and 
streams that once fell into the Thames. The most 
important of those on the north were the Westbourne, 
the Tybourne or Tyburn, the Holebourne or Fleet 
or Wells River, and the Walbrook. Not one of these 
streams now runs above ground, and if they flow, it is 
merely as underground sewers. Their courses, however, 
can still be traced by the names of places that formerly 
stood on their banks. As regards the streams of the 
south, they have little bearing upon the history of ancient 
London. The chief fact to bear in mind about the south 
was the vast extent of marsh-land, now covered with 
thousands of houses. A few streams crossed the marshes, 



RIVERS OF THE PAST 



55 



among them the Falcon Brook and the Effra. In this 
volume, we will consider the Westbourne, and the 
Tybourne or Tyburn. 

The Westbourne rose in the Hampstead Heights, 
and after crossing the site of the present Edgware Road 




The Streams of Ancient London 

spread out into a shallow water, which probably gave the 
name to Bayswater. When Hyde Park was laid out in 
1 733, this stream was used to form the Serpentine. It now 
flows underground, and leaving the Park at Albert Gate, 
falls into the Thames through the Ranelagh Sewer. 



56 WEST LONDON 

The Tybourne, or Tyburn, rose in Conduit Fields 
on the slope of Hampstead. Thence it ran for a few- 
hundred yards through Regent's Park, and the present 
Marylebone Lane marks its windings for us. The stream 
flowed onwards to Piccadilly, and across the Green Park. 
Mr Loftie says that " the windings of the Tyburn are 
occasionally revealed by a line of mist, which shows that 
it has not been wholly dried up in its underground 
course." Near Buckingham Palace it divides into three 
branches. Part falls, or used to fall, into the Thames 
through the ornamental water in St James's Park ; 
another part ran into the ancient Abbey buildings for 
the use of the monks; and the third branch passes under 
the Palace grounds and falls into the Thames at the 
King's Scholars' Pond Sewer. The Tyburn has entered 
into the historical associations of London. Tyburn was 
the original name of the present St Marylebone. Tyburnia 
is the district that borders on the Bayswater Road. 
Tyburn Lane was the ancient name of Park Lane, and 
Tyburn Road was the old name for Oxford Street. The 
Tyburn also gave its name to the place of execution for 
criminals convicted in the county of Middlesex. Tyburn 
Gallows, or Tyburn Tree, existed as early as the reign of 
Henry IV, and stood at the south end of the present 
Edgware Road. The Gallows was a triangle in plan, 
having three legs to stand on. In Tarlton's Jests, 1611, 
there is this remark, " It was made like the shape of 
Tyborne, three square." Many celebrated and notorious 
characters were executed at Tyburn, and such names as 
John Felton the assassin of Buckingham, Jack Sheppard, 



RIVERS OF THE PAST 57 

Jonathan Wild, and Dr Dodd at once rise in our memory. 
The last person executed at Tyburn was John Austin, on 
November 7, 1783 ; and the name of Ketch, one of the 
executioners in the seventeenth century, is now syno- 
nymous with hangman. On the three wooden stilts 
of Tyburn the bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Ireton, and 
Bradshaw were hung, on the eleventh anniversary 
(January 30, 1 660-1) of the execution of Charles I. 
Their bodies were dragged from their graves in West- 
minster Abbey, and removed at night to the Red Lion 
Inn in Holborn, from whence they were carried next 
morning in sledges to Tyburn. 



8. The Water=SuppIy of London— Past 
and Present. 

The Water-Supply of a great city is of the utmost 
importance, for on its good quality and constant flow 
depend largely the health and happiness of its people. 
In considering the supply of water to London, it is well 
to remember that ancient London and the many parishes 
now comprised in the modern county, arose on sites 
where a supply of good drinking-water could readily be 
obtained from natural springs and brooks, or by means of 
wells. The earlier settlements were made on the tracts 
of gravel and sand, and thus the growth of London was 
regulated for a long period by the distribution of these water- 
bearing strata. Thus we find that the City expanded 
westwards to Chelsea, Kensington, and Hammersmith ; 



58 



WEST LONDON 



southwards to Clapham, and Camberwell ; eastwards 
to Bow, and Hackney ; and northwards to Islington. 




View of the Conduit at Bayswater 

Such districts as Camden Town, Kentish Town, and 
Kilburn were not populated until a supply of drinking- 
water from a distance was brought in conduits. 



THE WATER-SUPPLY OF LONDON 59 

It is a matter of history that, from 1 680-1840, some 
of the London wells and springs attained fame as wells 
and spas. Thus we read of Beulah Spa, Bermondsey 
Spa, Islington Spa, Holywell, Clerkenwell, and Sadler's 
Wells. At Well Walk, Hampstead, a chalybeate spring 
was utilised until quite recently. The first conduit 
for the supply of water to London was that of Tyburn, 
which was completed in 1239, when water was conveyed 
in leaden pipes to the City. Much water was also 
obtained in buckets from the river, and in 1582 the 
supply was facilitated by means of water-wheels attached 
to the arches of old London Bridge. After a time 
wooden conduits were used, and a more extended system 
of supply to houses was introduced. In opening some 
of the London streets it is no uncommon thing to find 
these wooden conduits as they were placed a long time 
ago. Some of these relics of the early times of London's 
water-supply may be seen in various museums. 

With the growth of London, the supplies of water 
from the gravel soils became contaminated, and the water 
of the Thames near London Bridge was very bad. From 
the close of the seventeenth century and onwards to 1855, 
companies were formed for taking water from the Thames 
near Charing Cross, and higher up ; but since that year, 
no water has been drawn by any company from the 
Thames below Teddington Lock. 

Sir Hugh Myddelton was the pioneer in bringing 
water to London from a distance. In 1608, he com- 
menced the cutting of the New River, and five years 
later that artificial channel was completed. As a result 



60 WEST LONDON 

of his efforts the New River Company was formed in 
1 619, and down to the present century it has been of the 
greatest service to London, in supplying an abundant 
quantity of excellent water from the river Lea and 
from springs in the Chalk, as well as from deep wells 
sunk into the Chalk. 

Many artesian wells have been sunk through the 
London Clay into the Lower Tertiaries and Chalk, and 
since 1790, breweries and other large establishments have 
used this means of obtaining their water. One of the 
deepest borings through the Chalk in the London Basin 
is that at Kentish Town, where various beds have been 
passed through to a depth of over 1300 feet. 

The water-supply of London and the surrounding 
districts is now controlled by the Metropolitan Water 
Board. Before the year 1902, this great area was supplied 
by eight London Water Companies ; but by an Act passed 
in that year the Water Board was created for the purpose 
of purchasing and managing the undertakings of those 
companies. The Metropolitan Water Board area is much 
greater than that of the County of London and extends 
from Ware in Hertfordshire to Esher in Surrey, and from 
Romford in Essex to Chevening in Kent. 

The Metropolitan Water Board in 1908 had to supply 
a population of more than 7,000,000 persons, and to 
deliver a daily average of 224,000,000 gallons. The 
whole of this water is obtained from the Thames, the 
Lea, and from various springs and wells in the locality. 
The water mains have a total length of 6041 miles, and 
the water supplied to the great population of London and 



THE WATER-SUPPLY OF LONDON 61 

its environs is of a very high standard of excellence and 
of purity. 

The great fault of the water supplied over this area 
is " hardness," that is, the containing a quantity of bicar- 
bonate of lime, yet it is well known that many of the 
healthiest districts are those with hard water. It is this 
hardness of chalk waters which furs our kettles, and 
wastes our soap ; but it is not easy in the London area 
to obtain other than hard water, for much of it is derived 
from wells in the Chalk. 

9. Geology. 

In geological language, London is said to be situated 
in a " basin " — the " London Basin." This basin has 
been carved out of strata belonging to the early Tertiary 
period, which is called Eocene. The solid foundation 
is composed of the Chalk, a formation here about 
600 feet in thickness. This it is which really constitutes 
the London Basin, whose broad rim comes to the surface 
in the Chiltern Hills in the north and ncr-th-west, and 
in the North Downs in the south. Although the Chalk 
may be called the basement-rock of the London Basin, 
yet wells have been sunk in the middle of that area to 
so great a depth as to pass through it into the beds 
below. 

For the purpose of this chapter we may begin our 
description of the rocks under London with the Gault, 
the formation that occurs almost universally in the 
London Basin. The Gault is a marine deposit, and 



62 



WEST LONDON 



seems to have been deposited in a moderately deep, quiet 
sea, and not along a shore-line. It is a bluish clay 
and varies in thickness from 130 to 200 feet at such 
deep borings as those at Tottenham Court Road, Kentish 
Town, and Mile End. 

Above the Gault is the Upper Greensand, which is 
also of marine origin. It consists of clayey greensand 
varying in thickness from 10 to 30 feet. In all cases, 
it has been found in the same deep borings as the Gault. 

The Chalk comes after the Gault, and is perhaps the 
best known rock in England. In the deep borings 



N 



Chi Item 
Woburn Hills 




North 

Hampstead Downs Weald 


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5 


Jl° 9 JW^S\ ! ^ S 


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The 


London Basin 


i. Oxford Clay. 




6. Upper Greensand. 


2. Hastings Beds 




7. Chalk. 


3. Weald Clay. 




8. Lower London Tertiaries. 


4. Lower Greensand. 


9. London Clay. 


5. Gault. 




10. Bagshot Beds. 



through the Chalk in London, the thickness of this 
formation varies from 645 to 671 feet. By its fossils 
the Chalk is proved to be the deposit of a fairly deep sea, 
something of the same character as that now forming 
in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. The Chalk is not much 
exposed in the County of London, but there are some 
pits near Deptford and also near Lewisham where it may 
be seen. 

Over the Chalk come a number of thin but varying 



GEOLOGY 63 

beds known as the Lower London Tertiaries. To each 
of these divisions a local name has been given. The 
Thanet Beds are the lowest, and are so named from the 
fact that they are the only Tertiary formation in the Isle 
of Thanet. The Woolwich and Reading Beds succeed, 
and are named from their occurrence in the neighbourhood 
of those places. The upper formation of Oldhaven Beds 
follows the last, receiving its name from the good section 
of it which may be. seen at Oldhaven Gap, near Reculver 
in Kent. 

The Thanet Beds consist almost wholly of fine soft 
sand, very pale grey or buff, and very compact. They 
are without pebbles and without fossils, and have a thick- 
ness of about 30 feet. Sections rarely reach the surface 
in the County of London, but the Thanet Sand may be 
well seen at Plumstead, Woolwich, and Lewisham. 

The Woolwich and Reading Beds are a group of 
clays and sands having a thickness of 60 feet or less. 
Shells of an estuarine character are found in the clay, and 
this fact proves that the beds were deposited at or near 
the mouths of streams. Sections of these beds may be 
seen at Woolwich, Charlton, and Lewisham. 

The Oldhaven and Blackheath Beds consist mostly 
of a bed of perfectly-rolled flint pebbles, in a base of fine, 
sharp, light-coloured sand. The thickness is as much as 
50 feet, and fossils are met with in parts. Interesting 
open sections of the Blackheath Beds may be seen at 
Eltham, Bostall Heath, Woolwich, Plumstead Common, 
and Blackheath. 

Overlying the last beds is a great mass of clay known 



64 WEST LONDON 

as London Clay. Although this formation takes its name 
from the Metropolis, it is well to remember that it extends 
from Marlborough on the west to Yarmouth on the 
north-east. In the neighbourhood of London the Clay 
is 400 feet thick, and many fossils have been found in it. 
The London Clay forms a very broad band right through 
the London area from south-west to north-east, and 
excellent sections may be seen at Plumstead Common, 
Hampstead, and Highgate. 

Above the London Clay come a group of sands 
which may be comprised under the name Bagshot Beds. 
As a whole they form a more or less barren sandy tract 
of rising ground, which is partly open, but sometimes 
covered with fir and larch. The hills of Hampstead and 
Highgate are perhaps the most prominent heights in north 
London, and although the Bagshot Beds cap these hills, 
it must be remembered that their longer slopes are of 
London Clay. 

In the London Basin, after the Bagshot Beds, we 
come to a great gap in the series of geological formations. 
The beds just named are Eocene, and we find nothing more 
till we are almost out of the Pliocene Period. Gravels, 
sands, and clays are found at various levels down nearly 
to the present level of the Thames, and this newer set 
of deposits may be classed under the term Drift. The 
Boulder Clay is one of the most important of these 
deposits. It is stiff and tenacious, and often studded with 
pieces of Chalk. Good sections of the Boulder Clay are 
rare but it can sometimes be seen in temporary openings 
and in roadside sections and ponds. 



GEOLOGY 65 

Passing over some deposits known as Brick earth, and 
Valley or River Gravel, we come to the last and newest 
deposits of the district. These Alluvial Deposits are 
confined to the very bottoms of the valleys in which 
rivers run. They comprise the strip of marsh-land or 
Alluvium, which fringes the river over small areas above 
London, and over broader tracts in southern Essex and 
northern Kent. The Alluvial Deposits are from 12 to 
20 feet thick, and the old river mud often contains bones 
of the ox, deer and elk, as well as implements of stone, 
bronze, and iron. 

It is advisable, while reading this chapter, that 
constant reference should be made to the geological map 
at the end of this volume. The reader is also advised to 
pay a visit to the Geological Museum at Jermyn Street, 
where there is a large model of London and the neigh- 
bourhood. It is on the scale of 6 inches to the mile, 
and represents an area of 165 square miles, and owing to 
its great size it is in nine sections. It gives an excellent 
idea of the geological structure of London. 



10. Natural History. 

Among all the English counties, London has least to 
attract the lover of natural history. Almost its entire 
area is given over to bricks and mortar, and outside the 
parks and open spaces there are few places where the 
flora and fauna can be studied in the same way as in the 

b. w. l 5 



66 WEST LONDON 

neighbouring counties of Essex, Kent, and Surrey. There 
are tracts in the north and in the south-east and south- 
west where the population is not so dense as in central 
London, but even in those districts streets are being made 
every year, with the consequent destruction of plant and 
animal life. 

It would almost be easier to write about the trees and 
flowers in London many years ago than of those at the 
present time. London was once famous for its trees and 
flowers. Vinegar Yard, Covent Garden, was the vineyard 
of Covent Garden. Saffron Hill was once covered with 
saffron {Crocus sativus). The red and white roses of York 
and Lancaster were plucked in the Temple Gardens; 
and Daniel, the poet, in the reign of Elizabeth, had an 
excellent garden in Old Street, St Luke's. Gerard the 
herbalist in the same reign had a choice assemblage of 
botanical specimens in his garden at Holborn. 

The flora of the south-east and south-west of the 
county of London is similar to that of Surrey and Kent. 
The blue wood anemone [A. apennina) was formerly 
abundant as an introduced plant in Wimbledon Park, but 
is now extinct. The cowbane [Ckuta virosa) formerly 
grew by the Thames at Battersea. Gerard (1633) records 
that this plant grew in Moor Park, Chelsea, but of course 
it is no longer found there. The sea-aster {A. Tripoliutn) 
grew by the Thames near Battersea, but is no longer a 
plant of the county. 

Furze, broom, briars, bracken, and heath are abundant 
on Barnes Common, and on Putney Heath and Wim- 
bledon Common are to be seen scrub of stunted oak, hazel, 



NATURAL HISTORY 67 

birch, and sallows, with plenty of tall furze. Wandsworth 
Common now grows nothing unusual, but formerly its 
speciality was the water-soldier [Stratiotes abides), while 
Streatham Common was famous for Senecio viscosus. 




Sir Hans Sloane, M.D. 

The Plumstead marshes and the flats below Woolwich 
and towards Erith have now been drained and put under 
pasturage. Aquatic plants, both rare and ordinary, grew 
here in great variety and abundance, but they have 
now almost disappeared. In the north of the county 

5-2 



68 WEST LONDON 

Hampstead Heath is the chief open space. The ground 
is there broken into pits and hillocks, and much bracken 
grows, with a few white and black thorns. 

There is one survival in London which is worth a 
passing notice. Adjoining the Chelsea Embankment is 
the Physic Garden, founded in 1673 and presented by 
Sir Hans Sloane in 1722 to the Society of Apothecaries 
on condition that 50 new varieties of plants grown in it 
should be annually furnished to the Royal Society, until 
the number so presented amounted to 2000. It was 
famed for its fine cedars, the first to be grown in Eng- 
land. They are now no longer existent, the last being 
felled in 1904. 

The great Linnaeus visited this garden in 1736, and 
Kalm the Swedish naturalist in 1748. Towards the end 
of the last century, the Apothecaries' Society being no 
longer desirous of maintaining the Garden, it was vested 
in the London Parochial Charities in 1899. ^ committee 
of management was appointed, and as a result of their 
work many improvements have been made. The green- 
houses have been rebuilt, and a well-fitted laboratory and 
lecture room erected. The place is now used by students 
of the Royal College of Science, and members of various 
schools and polytechnics. Courses of advanced lectures 
in Botany are arranged by the University of London; 
and specimens are supplied to the principal teaching and 
examining bodies in the Metropolis. 

It is very noticeable when houses are cleared away 
in London, and the space remains derelict for a time, 
that all kinds of plants will grow and flourish. In 1909 



NATURAL HISTORY 69 

there was a large tract of waste ground on the north of 
the Strand, and in the month of July the area was a 
blaze of purple. Amid the mass of vegetation that had 
sprung up there were elder, cherry* loosestrife, willow 
herb, a great crop of rape, and here and there a thistle. 
In a short space of time, it was not difficult to find 
as many as twenty different plants, and the question 
arose how they came to grow in such an unlikely spot. 
Air-borne seeds such as dandelion settled in this area 
and grew with little difficulty. Other seeds were carried 
to Aldwych in the hay or chaff given to horses at the 
time when the buildings were being demolished and the 
debris carted away, while the elder and cherry were 
probably brought by birds. 

The parks and open spaces of London are the haunt 
each year of a far larger number of wild birds than is 
generally supposed. It is only during the great migration 
times in spring and early autumn that a full idea can be 
obtained of the large variety of species which pause for a 
few hours in the chief London parks as they seek or 
leave their summer nesting-places. Among these passing 
visitors to London are the wheatear, the redstart, the 
sandpiper, the kingfisher, and the great crested grebe. 
The wheatear and the brilliant kingfisher are by no means 
unknown in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. 

Besides these birds, which in London are essentially 
birds of passage, there is a large group of birds which are 
regular residents for the whole or part of the year, and 
thus save London from the reproach of being a birdless 
county. There are some birds which find greater security 



70 



WEST LONDON 



in London than in the country. One of the most con- 
spicuous examples of this class is the carrion crow, which 
is common in some of the parks and squares, more 
especially in Kensington Gardens. The crow in London 
maintains a steady hostility to rooks, and the Gray's Inn 




Sea Gulls on the Embankment 



rookery has been harried of late years by the crows, so 
that this famous colony is gradually diminishing and 
disappearing. In 1836, there were 100 nests of rooks 
in Kensington Gardens, but owing to the terrorism of 
the crows, the rookery there is well-nigh extinct. The 



NATURAL HISTORY 71 

brown owl is another bird of prey which seems glad to 
find refuge in London. It is not uncommon among the 
old trees in the larger London gardens, planted a century 
or more ago, and it has adapted itself to the London life 
of to-day. 

The sparrow is looked upon as a London bird and 
has every equipment for the needs of London life. He 
is there viewed with a tolerance, and even with a 
sentimental affection, which is not extended to him in 
the country. In London, he is ubiquitous, and seems 
to find a satisfaction in placing his nest in the most 
ridiculous positions. The song-thrush and blackbird often 
sing more vigorously in London during the winter than 
in most places in the open country. Swallows, martins, 
and sand-martins are sometimes seen in considerable 
numbers on the Round Pond, and on the Serpentine, 
especially in cold and frosty Aprils. The spotted fly- 
catcher attempts to nest every year in Hyde Park and 
Kensington Gardens, and the reed-warbler occurs on the 
London list, for it sometimes pauses on migration in the 
thickets of reeds at the head of the Serpentine. 

Perhaps the most striking example of a recent addition 
to the birds of London is the annual winter visit of the 
black-headed gulls which haunt the Thames and the 
ponds in the parks from October until March. The 
flocks include from time to time a few gulls of other 
kinds, the herring gulls being commonest. The gulls 
first visited London in large numbers in the hard frost 
of 1895, and have never since abandoned it. Still more 
remarkable, however, is the introduction of that most 



n WEST LONDON 

wary of all country birds, the wood-pigeon. Unknown 
a few years ago not only in London but in its near 
neighbourhood, they became established about 1900 and 
have remarkably increased. They have become extremely 
tame and may be seen feeding in dozens in the parks, 
and even in the roads. 

The ornamental waters in the parks are so well 
stocked with different breeds of duck that it is impossible 
to say to what extent they are frequented by genuine 
wild-fowl. There is no doubt, however, that such 
visitants are numerous. There are upwards of 400 
wild-fowl in the splendid collection at St James's Park, 
which have their breeding place on Duck Island. The 
herons, whose wings are clipped, have been there three 
years, and besides black and white swans there are many 
sorts of geese, wigeon, teal, and mallard. 

There was a time when the kite was as familiar in 
London's streets as the sparrow is now. The swifts used 
to circle and glide over what is now the densest part of 
the City, and not a hundred years ago woodcocks were 
shot in Piccadilly. 



11. Climate and Rainfall. Greenwich 
Observatory and its Work. 

The climate of a country or district is, briefly, the 
average weather of that country or district, and it depends 
upon various factors, all mutually interacting, upon the 
latitude, the temperature, the direction and strength of 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 73 

the winds, the rainfall, the character of the soil, and the 
proximity of the district to the sea. 

The differences in the climates of the world depend 
mainly upon latitude, but a scarcely less important 
factor is this proximity to the sea. Along any great 
climatic zone there will be found variations in proportion 
to this proximity, the extremes being " continental " 
climates in the centres of continents far from the oceans, 
and "insular" climates in small tracts surrounded by sea. 
Continental climates show great differences in seasonal 
temperatures, the winters tending to be unusually cold 
and the summers unusually warm, while the climate of 
insular tracts is characterised by equableness and also by 
greater dampness. Great Britain possesses, by reason of 
its position, a temperate insular climate, but its average 
annual temperature is much higher than could be expected 
from its latitude. The prevalent south-westerly winds 
cause a movement of the surface-waters of the Atlantic 
towards our shores, and this warm-water current, which 
we know as the Gulf Stream, is the chief cause of the 
mildness of our winters. 

Most of our weather comes to us from the Atlantic. 
It would be impossible here within the limits of a short 
chapter to discuss fully the causes which affect or control 
weather changes. It must suffice to say that the conditions 
are in the main either cyclonic or anticyclonic, which 
terms may be best explained, perhaps, by comparing the 
air currents to a stream of water. In a stream a chain of 
eddies may often be seen fringing the more steadily-moving 
central water. Regarding the general north-easterly 



74 WEST LONDON 

moving air from the Atlantic as such a stream, a chain 
of eddies may be developed in a belt parallel with its 
general direction. This belt of eddies or cyclones, as 
they are termed, tends to shift its position, sometimes 
passing over our islands, sometimes to the north or south 
of them, and it is to this shifting that most of our weather 
changes are due. Cyclonic conditions are associated with 
a greater or less amount of atmospheric disturbance ; 
anticyclonic with calms. 

The prevalent Atlantic winds largely affect our island 
in another way, namely in its rainfall. The air, heavily 
laden with moisture from its passage over the ocean, 
meets with elevated land-tracts directly it reaches our 
shores — the moorland of Devon and Cornwall, the Welsh 
mountains, or the fells of Cumberland and Westmorland 
— and blowing up the rising land-surface, parts with this 
moisture as rain. To how great an extent this occurs is 
best seen by reference to the accompanying map of the 
annual rainfall of England, where it will at once be 
noticed that the heaviest fall is in the west, and that it 
decreases with remarkable regularity until the least fall 
is reached on our eastern shores. Thus in 1907, the 
maximum rainfall for the year occurred at Llyn Llydaw 
copper mine in Carnarvonshire, where 196*16 inches of 
rain fell ; and the lowest was at Clacton-on-Sea, with a 
record of i6"66 inches. These western highlands, there- 
fore, may not inaptly be compared to an umbrella, sheltering 
the country further eastward from the rain. 

The above causes, then, are those mainly concerned 
in influencing the weather, but there are other and more 




GEORGE PHIUP1 SON \*. 

(The figures give the approximate annual rainfall in inches!) 



76 WEST LONDON 

local factors which often affect greatly the climate of a 
place, such, for example, as configuration, position, and 
soil. The shelter of a range of hills, a southern aspect, 
a sandy soil, will thus produce conditions which may 
differ greatly from those of a place — perhaps at no great 
distance — situated on a wind-swept northern slope with 
a cold clay soil. The character of the climate of a 
country or district influences, as everyone knows, both 
the cultivation of the soil and the products which it 
yields, and thus, indirectly as well as directly, exercises a 
profound effect upon Man. 

In considering the climate of the county of London 
we must bear in mind that it is not a maritime county 
like Essex, and so has not the modifying influence of 
the sea. It will also be well to remember that in point 
of size, London is the smallest of our English counties, 
and so we must not expect to find the variations in its 
climate so noticeable as those in Kent or Essex. 

It is of the greatest importance to have accurate 
information as to the prevailing winds, the temperature, 
and the rainfall of a district, for the climate of a county 
has considerable influence on its productions, its trades 
and industries, and its commerce. Our knowledge 
of the weather is much more definite than it was 
formerly, and every day our newspapers contain a great 
deal of information on this subject. In London the 
Meteorological Society collects information from all parts 
of the British Isles relating to the temperature of the air, 
the hours of sunshine, the rainfall, and the direction of 
the winds. 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 77 

The British Isles have been divided for these purposes 
into various districts, and day by day the newspapers 
publish the forecasts issued by the Meteorological Society 
of the probable weather in these districts for the twenty- 
four hours next ensuing, ending midnight. Thus, for 
September 30, 1909, the following was the forecast for 
London, which is placed in the south-east England district: 
" Calms and very light variable breezes ; north-easterly 
to north-westerly ; dull to fair or fine ; local rain and 
mist ; cool." Warnings are also issued when necessary, 
so that the districts may be prepared for any rough 
weather that may be expected. Besides this information, 
some of the newspapers print maps and charts to convey 
the weather intelligence in a more graphic manner. 

A glance at a map of the World will show that as 
the British Isles are in the same latitude as Central 
Russia, Southern Siberia, Kamtchatka, and Labrador, 
they get the same amount of heat from the sun and the 
same duration of day and night, summer and winter ; 
but the direction of the prevailing winds renders available 
throughout the year much of the heat which the sun has 
radiated on more southern regions. 

The prevailing winds of London, like those of the 
British Isles generally, are south-westerly. Indeed the 
wind blows from the south-west for a greater number of 
days in each month than from all other directions 
together. A knowledge of this fact helps us to under- 
stand that the west end of London is the least smoky 
and therefore the best quarter for residence. For a short 
period of the year, London suffers from the east wind, 



78 WEST LONDON 

and during its prevalence in March and April, the air is 
dry and catarrhal complaints are common. 

London is inconvenienced during two or three months 
in the year by thick fogs which hang over the city like a 
black pall. Their density is mainly due to coal-smoke, 
and many efforts have been made to remedy this 
scourge. Fogs can nowhere be avoided in the London 
area, though they are less dense at Hampstead and 
Highgate in the north, and at Streatham in the south, 
than at Whitechapel or Rotherhithe. There is even a 
Smoke Abatement Society, but up to the present there 
has been little or no alleviation of the annoyance. 
Besides the health point of view, there is the commercial 
aspect of these London fogs, for the dislocation of traffic 
and business is enormous, while the frequent resort to 
artificial light results in a great expenditure of money by 
tradesmen and others. In London, the yellow fogs are 
known as " London's Peculiar," and Dickens often refers 
in his works to this name. London has also its mists, 
and these occur throughout the year. To the artistic 
eye, a London mist is really beautiful and Whistler has 
taught people to appreciate them in relation to the river 
by his " Nocturnes." 

The warmest month in London is generally July, 
when an average temperature of 64 Fahr. prevails, and 
January, the coldest month, has an average temperature 
of 39 . The mean temperature of England was 48*7° 
in 1906, and that of London was 507 . With regard to 
the hours of bright sunshine, we find that while London 
in the same year had 1734*5 hours out of a possible total 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 79 

of 4459, the average for all England was 1535*5, so that 
London was much above the country as a whole. 

The statistics with regard to the rainfall are arranged 
in an annual known as British Rainfall, and from it we 
can find exactly recorded the number of inches of rain 
that fall at about 4000 stations throughout the British 
Isles. In the County of London there are many 
observers who keep one or more rain-gauges and enter 
the result in a register. Every year these facts are 
tabulated for that station, and then forwarded to the 
editor of British Rainfall. In the County of London 
there are two very important stations for recording 
meteorological statistics. The first is Greenwich Ob- 
servatory, which is a Government establishment, and the 
second is at Camden Square, where Dr H. R. Mill, 
the editor of British Rainfall, has a station. 

Now let us look at the rainfall statistics at Greenwich 
for 1907. During that year there were 163 rainy days 
with a total rainfall of 22*25 inches. The two wettest 
months were April and October, each having a rainfall 
of over three inches, while March, July, and September 
were the driest with a rainfall of less than one inch. 
If we turn to the records at Camden Square, which is 
in the north of London, we find that rain fell for 418*8 
hours on 175 days, with a total rainfall of 23*01 inches, 
which is rather higher than that of Greenwich. The 
average rainfall of 50 years at Camden Square is 25*07 
inches; the lowest rainfall of 17*69 inches was in 1898, 
and the highest of 38*00 inches was in 1903. For 
purposes of comparison it may be mentioned that the 



80 



WEST LONDON 



rainy days for England and Wales were 203 in 1907, 
and for the same year the rainfall was 36*11 inches. 
It will thus be seen that London is far below the rest 




Greenwich Observatory 



of the country. This is largely due to the fact that, as 
we have seen, the rainfall of England generally decreases 
as we travel from west to east. 

Now to summarise the main facts with regard to the 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 81 

climate of London, we may say that it is generally dry, 
with a rainfall far below the average of England and 
Wales. The climate is healthy and the prevailing winds 
are from the south-west. The drawbacks to the climate 
are the fogs of November and December, and the biting 
east winds of the spring. Perhaps the best testimony to 
the healthiness of London's climate may be gathered from 
the vital statistics for 1908. In that year the death-rate 
per 1000 was only I3 # 8 against 15*2 for the whole 
country. 

Greenwich Observatory is world-famous. It was 
founded by Charles II in 1675, and designed by Sir 
Christopher Wren. For the purposes of navigation the 
staple work of the Observatory has always been the ob- 
servation of positions of the moon and fixed stars, to which 
has been added the care of the chronometers used in the 
Royal Navy. The meridian marked out by the Transit 
Circle, the instrument with which these observations are 
made, is the zero of longitude used by most of the nations 
of the world, and the mean time of the meridian of 
Greenwich is the legal standard time for Great Britain. 
At 10 o'clock and 1 o'clock each day, the accurate 
Greenwich time is telegraphed to the General Post Office 
for distribution over the whole country. The observations 
of positions of the heavenly bodies have been supplemented 
by the addition of branches dealing with meteorology, 
magnetism, the observation of the solar surface, and 
celestial photography. The photographs of comets, 
nebulae, and the small satellites of planets, taken with the 
30-inch Reflector, compare favourably with those taken 

b. w. l. 6 




The 30-inch Reflector at Greenwich 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 83 

in other parts of the world under better climatic con- 
ditions. The Astronomer Royal lives at Flamsteed House, 
which forms the main part of Wren's building. The 
curiously-shaped domes covering the telescopes, the 
largest of which is a refracting telescope with an object 
glass of 28 inches diameter, form striking features in the 
landscape, and the public clock and standard measures of 
length in the outer wall of the Observatory are always 
objects of interest to visitors. 



12. People — Race. Dialect. Settle= 
ments. Population. 

London is the most modern of our counties, and yet 
as a British city it has behind it a history of nearly two 
thousand years. Alone among all our British towns, it 
has been a city of world importance through ten centuries, 
and at the present time it is the most cosmopolitan centre 
of the whole world. In some of our English counties, 
such as Cornwall and Somerset, we find distinct traces of 
the speech and characteristics of the former inhabitants. 
This is also true of counties nearer London, such as 
Norfolk and Suffolk, where the Anglo-Danish influence 
is marked. But in London we have practically no 
definite survival of the original races which lived in the 
city; for the Londoner of to-day is either a recent 
immigrant from the country or from abroad, retaining 
his provincial or foreign characteristics, or else he is a 
hybrid of the most intricate ancestry. 

6—2 



84 WEST LONDON 

It thus will not be necessary to dwell at length on 
the various races that have lived in London. After its 
settlement by the Celts, there is no doubt that the 
Roman influence was of great importance and that the 
natives were Romanised in many ways, as will be gathered 
from other chapters in this book. When the Romans 
withdrew, the Saxons destroyed the city, and for a time 
it was a desolation. The Roman villas, baths, bridges, 
roads, temples, and statuary were either destroyed or 
allowed to fall into decay. At length, however, London 
again became famous as the capital of the Anglo-Saxon 
Kingdom of Essex, and continued to increase in size and 
importance. We may assign the renascence of London 
to Alfred, who repaired the buildings and rebuilt the 
walls. The building of St Paul's Minster in the tenth, 
and of Westminster Abbey in the eleventh, century settled 
the question that London was to be a great ecclesiastical 
centre of the English people. 

During the Saxon settlement of London there were 
frequent incursions of the Danes, and they have left their 
mark on London, for several of the city churches retain 
their dedication to saints of Danish origin. Thus we 
have St Clement Danes church in the west, and 
St Magnus and St Olave churches in the east. 

Perhaps the greatest change in London was effected 
in 1066, when the descendants of the Vikings, or 
Northmen, who had settled in Normandy conquered 
our land. Then it was that William the Norman 
imposed his will on our people, and made London his 
capital. From the time when William built the White 



PEOPLE— RACE, DIALECT, SETTLEMENTS 85 

Tower London has been without a rival, and has drawn 
to itself people from all parts of the British Isles and 
from all quarters of the globe. 

Since the eleventh century no hostile settlement has 
been made in London, but there has been a steady influx 




Italian Quarter, Hatton Garden 



of immigrants, who in many ways have added to the 
prosperity of London. For we must remember that 
London has nearly always been kind to aliens, especially 
to refugees from their own land, whether from political or 
religious motives. Flemings were brought over by some 
of our Anglo-Norman kings, and Germans from some of 



86 WEST LONDON 

the Hanse towns in Plantagenet times became numerous 
in London. Then, too, in the sixteenth, seventeenth, 
and eighteenth centuries, the Protestant Huguenots were 
driven from France, and found a safe asylum in Spital- 
fields, Bethnal Green, and other parts, where some of their 
descendants still thrive. The Jews at various periods 
have made notable and valuable additions to the popu- 
lation of London, and have shown themselves supreme 
in the financial and other departments of the life of the 
metropolis. Italians have settled largely in the district 
known as Hatton Garden, while the French are very 
numerous in the Soho area. 

During the later part of the nineteenth century there 
was a steady immigration of Germans, Poles, and Russians, 
who settled mainly in the East End of London. These 
aliens have not been an unmixed blessing, and an Act 
was recently passed to restrict their landing. The Act, 
however, is almost a dead letter, and the stream of 
undesirable aliens continues to flow, and now whole 
quarters in the borough of Stepney are practically in- 
habited by these people, who sell their labour at a very 
cheap rate. Their number is so large that it is now 
necessary for policemen and other officials to learn 
Yiddish that they may deal with these settlers more 
effectively. 

We may now pass to the question of dialect, and 
here our remarks as to the race of Londoners also apply. 
Owing to the influx of people from all parts of the 
British Islands, Londoners of to-day have no definite 
dialect as we should find in Yorkshire, or Cornwall, or 



PEOPLE— RACE, DIALECT, SETTLEMENTS 87 

Somerset. It has been well remarked that one of the 
most certain means of ascertaining the character of a 
people is afforded by their colloquial idioms. It would 
be very difficult to apply this principle to the speech of 
Londoners, which probably includes the worst as well as 
the best characteristics of our English language. Even 
in fashionable circles in London we should find the con- 
versation somewhat slangy, and tending to the dropping 
of the final "g's" of words. Among the toilers of 
London the speech is loud, and the initial " h " of words 
is seldom heard. The dialect of the Cockney has passed 
into a proverb, and has not only worked havoc in London, 
but has invaded the districts adjacent to the City, to the 
great detriment of our English language. Here it may 
be mentioned that the name Cockney is strictly speaking 
applied to people born within sound of Bow Bells ; and 
perhaps no novelist has used the Cockney speech so 
largely as Dickens. In his early days it was common 
for Londoners to convert the letter "w" into "v," and 
vice versa, but this peculiarity does not now exist. 

With these few remarks on the race and dialect of 
Londoners, let us turn our attention to the population of 
London as it was in 191 1, when the last census was 
taken. For the statistics relating to the population we 
have no exact information till 1 801, when the first census 
was commenced. From that date onwards, there has 
been a numbering of the people every ten years. 

In 1 801 the population of London was 959,310 
and in 191 1 it was 4,522,961. This means that the 
population has increased nearly five-fold in the century. 



88 WEST LONDON 

During the last 20 years the increase has been nearly 
300,000, but the census of 191 1 shows a decrease of 
i 3j3 ^- This enormous population of London is greater 
than that of either Scotland or Ireland, and exceeds that 
of fifteen European countries. It forms about one-eighth 
of the entire population of England and Wales; and while 
the average number of people to a square mile in England 
and Wales is 618, it is no less than 38,690 in London. 

The population of London north of the Thames is 
2,678,651 ; that on the south side of the river 1,844,310. 
There are 2,395,804 females, and 2,127,157 males in 
London's population of 191 1. In 1901 1 the people lived 
in 1,019,546 separate tenements, of which the greater 
number, or 672,030, had less than five rooms. It was 
found that there were 40,762 single-room tenements, 
each having more than two persons, and 1602 single-room 
tenements with more than six persons in each. 

The census figures are interesting in many ways. 
Thus we find that in 1901 there were 46,646 paupers in 
London's workhouses, and 4167 prisoners in the gaols. 
The military barracks of the metropolis held 10,058 
people, and there were 10,675 inmates in the various 
hospitals. To give some idea of the longevity of 
Londoners, it is interesting to record that 161 people 
were between the ages of 95 and 100, while 24 people 
had exceeded 100 years. 

The blind people of London in 1901 numbered 3556, 
and these were largely employed in making articles of 
willow and cane, as brush-makers, and as musicians. The 

1 Details of the 191 1 Census are not yet published. 



PEOPLE— RACE, DIALECT, SETTLEMENTS 89 

deaf and dumb were 2057 in number, and they worked 
as tailors, boot and shoe makers, and dressmakers. 

Now we come to the census tables (1901) which give 
the place of birth of the people. We learn that 3,016,580 
were born within the county of London, 35,421 in 
Wales, 56,605 in Scotland, 60,211 in Ireland, and 33,350 
in British Colonies. Persons of foreign birth numbered 
161,222, and were mainly natives of Russia, Germany, 
France, Italy, and the United States. The London 
borough having the largest foreign population is Stepney, 
where no less than 54,310 aliens were residing in 190 1. 
The boroughs of Westminster, St Pancras, Holborn, and 
St Marylebone have also a large population of foreigners. 

As this volume deals with the western portion of 
the county of London, we may close this chapter with 
a few figures giving some comparisons with regard to 
the populations of the various boroughs. Of the total 
population of London in 191 1, 2,457,533 are in the eastern 
portion, against 2,065,428 in the western portion. Of 
all the London boroughs, Islington in the east has the 
largest population of 327,423 people, while the City of 
London has the smallest of 19,657 people. ^Of course 
the latter is the night population ; in the day-time the 
city population would be ten times as great. Some of 
the boroughs in the eastern portion are densely populated, 
and we find that Southwark, Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, 
and Islington have each 170 or more people to the acre. 
Woolwich and Lewisham have the least crowded popula- 
tions, for the former borough has only 14, and the latter 
only 22 to the acre. 



90 WEST LONDON 

13. Industries and Manufactures. 

London has long been celebrated for its manufactures 
as well as for its commerce. So early as the reign of 
Henry I the English goldsmiths had become so eminent 
for working the precious metals that they were frequently 
employed by foreign princes. The manufacturers of 
London in that reign were so numerous as to be formed 
into fraternities, or gilds. In 1556, a manufactory for 
the finer sorts of glass was established at Crutched Friars ; 
and flint-glass, equal to that of Venice, was made at the 
same time at the Savoy. Coaches were introduced in 
1564, and in less than 20 years they became an extensive 
article of manufacture in London. 

The making of " earthen furnaces, earthen fire-pots, 
and earthen ovens transportable " began in Elizabeth's 
reign, when an Englishman named Dyer brought the art 
from Spain. The same man was sent at the expense of 
the City of London to Persia, and he brought home the 
art of dyeing and weaving carpets. In 1577, pocket 
watches we/e introduced into England from Nuremberg, 
and almost immediately the manufacture of them was 
begun in London. In the reign of Charles I, saltpetre 
was made in such quantities in London as not only 
to supply the whole of England, but the greater part 
of Europe. 

The Huguenots and other refugees from Europe 
brought their skill and instructed the people among 
whom they settled how to manufacture many articles 



Old Silk-weavers' Houses in Church Street, Spitalfields 

{Showing wide attic windows) 



92 WEST LONDON 

that had been previously imported. Wandsworth became 
a busy little manufacturing town in 1573, when a colony 
of Huguenots introduced the hat manufactory ; and it is 
said that this was the only place where the Cardinals 
of Rome could obtain a supply of their hats. 

The silk manufacture was first established at Spital- 
fields by the expelled French Protestants, after the revo- 
cation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. For a long time 
silk-weaving was a most flourishing manufacture, and 
although it has greatly declined, there are still descendants 
of the old French Huguenots who live in Spitalfields and 
Bethnal Green. Foreign names are visible on the shop 
fronts, and some of the weavers still work in glazed attics 
such as their forefathers used in France. It is related 
that the Pope in 1870 wished to procure a silk vestment 
woven all in one piece. Search was made in France and 
Italy for a man who could do this, but without success. 
At last he was found in Spitalfields, and, curiously, the 
weaver thus discovered was a direct descendant of one of 
the Huguenot refugees who had left France two hundred 
years before. 

In the seventeenth century, Lambeth was a manu- 
facturing centre, and foreign workmen taught English 
people the art of making plate glass, delft ware, and 
earthenware. This last manufacture is still one of its 
principal industries, and Doulton ware is celebrated all 
over our country. It may also be mentioned here that 
Bow and Chelsea were justly celebrated at one time for 
their china, which is now eagerly sought for by collectors. 

One of the most important industries in London is 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 93 

brewing, and it is interesting to know that the recipe for 
brewing was brought to London by some Dutch from 
Holland and Flanders. London stout and London ale 
have long been famous, and Stow tells us that in his time 
there were 26 breweries in the city all " near to the 
friendly water of the Thames." Nowadays there are 





-* m 



Pottery-making, Doulton's Works 



upwards of 100 breweries in London, and many of them 
in order to get a good supply of water have sunk wells 
hundreds of feet deep. Some of the largest London 
breweries are in Southwark, Whitechapel, and Holborn. 
Besides brewing, distilling and sugar-refining are carried 
on in various parts of London, but the latter industry is 
rapidly declining. 



94 WEST LONDON 

Tanning and the leather trade have been carried on 
in Bermondsey and Southwark for hundreds of years, and 
are still in a flourishing condition. When these trades 
were first introduced, north-east Surrey had oak-woods, 
but these have long passed away, and the whole of that 
district is one of the busiest parts of London. Bermondsey 
and Southwark have numerous other industries, and soap, 
candles, and biscuits are largely manufactured. 

London has large manufactures of boots and shoes, 
and ready-made clothing, especially in the East End. A 
great deal of this work is carried on in the houses of the 
poor, and gives employment to hundreds of women and 
children. The making of lucifer matches is also in the 
same district, and for such work the people are badly 
paid. 

Industries connected with the printing trade, book- 
binding, and newspapers are of the greatest importance, 
and London stands at the head of all our towns in this 
respect. The book-trade at one time centred round 
Paternoster Row, but of late years many publishers have 
removed to the West End. Most of the newspapers have 
their offices in Fleet Street, and in that neighbourhood 
are the chief printing and bookbinding firms. 

London is also one of the great centres of the furniture 
and cabinet-making trades, and until recent times the 
principal shops and factories were in the neighbourhood 
of Shoreditch. These industries are declining, owing to 
foreign competition, and much of the work has been 
transferred to the neighbourhood of Tottenham Court 
Road and Oxford Street. 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 95 

Clerkenwell is famous for its clock and watch-making, 
and Hatton Garden is the seat of the jewellery trade and 
is noted for its dealers in precious stones. Long Acre 
has a good deal of coach and carriage building ; and at 
Lambeth there are important engineering works. 

Although London is a great port, it has not much 
shipbuilding, and the little that is now done is chiefly 
confined to the Isle of Dogs, a poor district that has also 
extensive docks and chemical works. London has always 
been celebrated for its manufacture of scientific instru- 
ments, such as those connected with surgery, optics, and 
mathematics, but foreign scientific instruments are now 
competing with the London articles, and this trade is 
declining. 

Woolwich is a district that owes its importance 
mainly to the Arsenal, which gives employment to as 
many as 14,000 workmen at a busy time. The artisans 
are employed in making all kinds of cannon, gun-carriages, 
shot and shell, rockets, fuses, and torpedoes. This part 
of Woolwich is thus a crowded hive of workers, and 
the Arsenal one of the largest and most complete in 
the world. 

14. Trade. The Markets. The Custom 
House. The Exchanges. The Bank 
of England. The Royal Mint. 

Before locomotion by steam power, the geographical 
position of London made it the principal port of the whole 
island ; and the introduction of railways and steamships in 



96 WEST LONDON 

the nineteenth century has tended still further to increase 
its trade. From the earliest period of its history, London 
has depended on its trade for its supremacy, and Tacitus 
speaks of the concourse of foreign merchants in the 
London of his time. Although he does not tell us the 
nature of the trade, we know that there was corn to be 
shipped from the Thames, as well as tin, and oysters, and 
without any doubt among the exports of the Roman 
occupation we may reckon slaves. 

When London was settled by the East Saxons, trade 
came to it again, and under Alfred and his successor it 
became the chief port and market-place of our land. 
Bede, who died in the eighth century, praises the happy 
situation of London on the Thames, and calls it the 
emporium of many nations. Among the names of 
London in the seventh and eight centuries, we find 
Ceap-stoWy Lunden-JVic, Lunden-byrig, and Lunden tune's 
hythe, and these certainly show the recognised importance 
of London as a market and port. 

From the beginning of the ninth century the trade of 
London is more and more often mentioned. Then it 
is that the sea-faring merchant is rewarded, and the 
customs are of such importance as to be worthy of 
special regulations. It is probable that the first port 
was at Dowgate on the Wal brook, but as larger ships 
came, they moored alongside the Thames at Billingsgate 
and Queenhithe. 

A blow was struck at the slave-trade in 1008, when 
it was decreed that " Christian men, and uncondemned, 
be not sold out of the country," and within a few years 



TRADE 97 

such merchandise was not necessary for the growing 
prosperity of the port. One remarkable fact is that 
the early commerce and trade of London were mainly 
in the hands of foreigners. Indeed it has been said that 
London in those early times was largely a city of 
foreigners. In order to encourage our own people to 
trade, Athelstan, early in the tenth century, ordained 
that a merchant who had made three voyages should 
be of right a thane. 

Among the foreign traders who settled in London 
were some Germans, who were known to the English 
as Easterlings. They had their own hall, or Gildhall, 
which was called the Steelyard and stood on the site of 
the present Cannon Street Station. These Teutonic or 
Hanse merchants had a monopoly of all the trade with 
the nearer countries of Europe, and they flourished in 
London till the reign of Elizabeth, when they lost all 
their special privileges. 

The Italian money-lenders, known as Lombards, 
began to settle in London in the thirteenth century. 
They were mostly wealthy Italians driven from their 
own country, and owing to the expulsion of the Jews 
from London, they did a large and profitable business. 
These Italian money-lenders have left their mark on 
London trade, and Lombard Street, named after them, 
is still the seat of our chief banking houses. 

The reign of Edward III saw the increase of our 
trade with the Low Countries, and the settlement of 
Flemings in London and elsewhere. Flanders became 
the great market for our wool and so continued down to 

b. w. l. 7 ,^. 



98 WEST LONDON 

the time of the Tudors. Elizabeth gave a great stimulus 
to the trade of London, and it was in her reign that 
Gresham's Royal Exchange was built. When Antwerp 
was sacked by the Spaniards in 1576, London took its 
place as the leading port of Europe. The Hanse 
merchants lost their privileges by the action of Elizabeth, 
and at once the Merchant Adventurers took their place 
and carried on the wool trade with Flanders. It was 
owing to Elizabeth's wise commercial policy that other 
companies were formed for the development of trade. 
The Russian Company brought the furs of Russia to 
London, besides silks and, later, teas from the East. The 
Levant Company developed a trade in the Mediterranean, 
and the East India Company began its work during the 
last year of Elizabeth's reign. All these trading com- 
panies enjoyed monopolies, but they brought increasing 
prosperity to London. 

We can best grasp the present trade of London by 
looking at a few figures. The whole of the imports 
of the United Kingdom in 19 10 exceeded the value of 
^678,000,000 and of this London took ^228,000,000 
or nearly one-third. The total exports of the United 
Kingdom for the same year were over ^534,000,000, 
and London's share of this was about ^122,000,000. It 
will thus be seen that nearly a quarter of the trade 
of our country is carried on through London ; and it 
will also be noticed that the imports exceed the exports 
by nearly two to one. London is therefore the chief 
port for imports, and is exceeded in its exports only by 
Liverpool. 



TRADE 99 

Now it will be interesting to consider the chief 
articles that London imports. Nearly all the wool that 
comes to our country enters the Port of London, and its 
wool market is attended by buyers from all parts of the 
world. Most of the tea and coffee consumed in England 
are brought to London, and the City has practically a 
monopoly of the fur trade with Canada. London has a 
large share of the West Indian trade, which includes 
cocoa and sugar ; and about a quarter of the tobacco 
trade belongs to it. Petroleum from America and Russia, 
cheese from Canada, and timber from the Baltic ports are 
almost monopolies of London. It is calculated that half 
of the wine that comes to England pays duty at the 
Custom House ; and all kinds of French manufactures 
are sent to London. Among the chief exports of London 
are cotton goods, metal manufactures, wearing apparel, 
woollen goods, and machinery. 

We will now pass to a consideration of the markets 
of London. Markets have been in existence in the City 
for more than a thousand years, and for many centuries 
the City has been the market authority for London. The 
City was granted in the reign of Edward III exclusive 
market rights and privileges within a radius of seven 
miles, and these rights have from time to time been 
recognised and confirmed. 

It will thus be seen that nearly all the markets in the 
County of London are under the control of the City 
Corporation. The Central Markets at Smithfield, the 
Cattle Market at Islington, the Foreign Cattle Market 
at Deptford, the Fish Market at Billingsgate, and the 

7—2 



100 



WEST LONDON 



Meat and Poultry Market at Leadenhall, are managed by 
the City authorities, and are noticed in the volume on 
East London. 

In this volume we need not concern ourselves with 
the many street markets which supply the poorer classes 
with food of all kinds, nor with the small markets in 




Covent Garden 



private hands. There is one market, however, although 
not managed by a public body, which merits more than a 
passing notice. Covent Garden Market is justly famed 
for its fruit, flowers, and vegetables, which come from all 
quarters of the world. It takes its name from the fact 
that it is on the site of the garden belonging to the 



THE MARKETS 



101 



Convent of Westminster, but it was not till the sixteenth 
century that it was commonly written Covent, as being 
derived from the French couvent, rather than from the 
Latin conventus. 

In course of time this property of the Convent at 







Covent Garden Porters 



Westminster passed into the possession of the Earl of 
Bedford, and the present market belongs to a descendant 
of that nobleman. It seems to have originated in the 
middle of the seventeenth century in a few stalls and 
sheds on an open space, but the present market-place was 



102 WEST LONDON 

erected in 1830 by the sixth Duke of Bedford. Since 
that date the market has continued to grow, and the 
French flower market and the English flower market 
are some of the later additions. The market days are 
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and then the show 
of flowers is seen to best advantage at an early hour in 
the morning. The Easter Eve flower market is particu- 
larly brilliant, and gives one an idea of the wealth of 
flowers used in the decorations of the churches of London 
at Eastertide. 

In this volume we can only glance at such institutions 
as the Custom House, the Exchanges, the Bank of 
England, and the Royal Mint. Situated as they all are 
in the eastern portion of London, they are dealt with 
at greater length in the first volume. The Custom House 
in Lower Thames Street is the building where the customs 
are collected for the Port of London. It was erected in 
1 8 14 and has a fine river frontage of 488 feet, the quay 
forming a noble esplanade with a good view up the river. 

The Stock Exchange in Capel Court is quite close to 
the Bank of England. It is known in the City as " The 
House," and its 3000 members have the right to buy and 
sell stocks. The Royal Exchange, the third on this site, 
is one of the best known of the City buildings, and was 
opened by Queen Victoria in 1844. The eastern part of 
the Royal Exchange is occupied by " Lloyds," an associa- 
tion of underwriters whose business has largely to do with 
shipping and insurance. Among the other Exchanges 
in the City are the Corn Exchange in Mark Lane, 
the Shipping Exchange in Billiter Street, the Wool 



THE EXCHANGES 103 

Exchange in Coleman Street, and the Coal Exchange in 
Lower Thames Street. In each case the name is indica- 
tive of the class of business transacted in these important 
buildings. 

The chief banks have their headquarters in Lombard 
Street, or in its neighbourhood, and branches of them are 
to be found in all parts of London. When we speak of 
the banks of London we naturally think of the Bank of 
England, which was founded by William Paterson, a 
Scot, in 1694. The Bank of England transacts much 
business for the Government, and is the only bank in 
London which has the power of issuing paper money. 

The Royal Mint on Tower Hill is connected in some 
ways with the Bank of England. All the gold bullion 
from the Bank of England is here made into sovereigns 
and half-sovereigns, and in addition all our bronze and 
silver coins are produced here. The value of our Imperial 
coinage issued by the Mint in one year amounts to as 
much as ^7,000,000. 



15. History. 

There is no authentic evidence to show at what period 
the Britons settled in the district we now call London. 
We have already referred to the origin of the name, 
and also to the position of the city in the days of the 
Britons. Here we need only remark that it was then 
probably little more than a collection of huts on a dry 
spot in the midst of a marsh, and surrounded by an 



104 WEST LONDON 

earthwork and ditch. It is not possible to say what length 
of time elapsed between the foundation of British London 
and its settlement by the Romans. We do know, how- 
ever, that after the Roman conquest London rapidly 
grew in importance, and in a.d. 6i it is spoken of as 
a place noted for its concourse of merchants. 

The early Roman city on this site was called Augusta, 
and was founded in the reign of Nero, a.d. 62. As a 
Roman city it did not rank in importance with either 
Eboracum (York) or Verulamium (St Albans), and it was 
never regarded as the capital of Roman Britain. Under 
the Romans, the city extended from the site of the present 
Tower of London on the east to Newgate on the west, 
and inland from the marshy banks of the Thames to some 
swampy land known as Moorfields. The Romans left 
their mark on London, and the wall with its gates, and 
the bridge over the Thames which they built, are all 
referred to in other chapters. 

The actual historical references to London during 
the Roman period are very few. In the year a.d. 61 
Boadicea, the British queen, attacked the town, and 
Suetonius and his troops were forced to evacuate it. 
For more than two centuries after its capture by the 
British forces we have no mention of London by any 
historian. There is every reason to believe that the 
Romans recaptured it, and that its prosperity increased. 
Towards the end of the third century, Carausius, the 
Roman commander in Britain, proclaimed himself em- 
peror, and struck in London gold coins bearing his portrait 
and name. Before long, however, he was murdered by 



HISTORY 105 

Allectus, who assumed the imperial title but was defeated 
and slain at Southwark by a general whom the Emperor 
of Rome had sent against him. Henceforward the history 
of London becomes fragmentary, and about 410 the 
Roman soldiers were withdrawn, and Augusta was 
forgotten for a period of nearly two hundred years. We 
may say that Augusta had perished, and when the City 
comes again into the light of history, it is under its more 
ancient name — London. 

This silence of history for two centuries is very re- 
markable, for we hear of the Saxon conquest of Pevensey, 
Bath, and Gloucester, but the story of London is quite 
lost to us. In the year 604 a.d. we find the city in 
the possession of the East Saxons, and new names are 
given to the old Roman roads, the gates, the rivers, 
and the hills. Everything is changed, and the power 
of Rome over London has vanished. London became 
the capital of the kingdom of the East Saxons, and 
continued to increase in size and importance. As early 
as the beginning of the seventh century the influence 
of Christianity made itself felt in London. Ethelbert, 
King of Kent, had been converted, and as overlord of all 
nations south of the Humber, he had a sincere desire that 
the East Saxons should become Christians like the people 
of Kent. He therefore decreed that the people of London 
should put away the worship of Thor, Odin, and other 
gods of the north. Evidently he was obeyed, and Mellitus 
was consecrated the first bishop of London in 604. Bede 
tells us that Ethelbert built the first church of St Paul in 
London, and the site of the present Westminster Abbey 



106 WEST LONDON 

was also occupied by a Christian church. Many other 
churches were built in various parts of London, and were 
dedicated to national and local saints, such as St Dunstan, 
St Botolph, St Osyth, and St Swithin. 

From the time of its conversion, London steadily 
grew, and learning and culture came from over the sea 
to its people. Monasteries were founded, and monks 
from the continent came to fill them. The arts of 
architecture, painting, and music developed, and a brighter 
and better life for the dwellers in London was the 
result. The Christian Saxons of the seventh and eighth 
centuries were quite unlike the pirates and plunderers 
of earlier days. Peace had settled on the land, and, as. a 
result, commerce brought riches to London. Early in 
the ninth century, however, a new enemy appeared at the 
gates of London, and for a long time the Danes harried 
the city. At length, in 839, they captured it, and made 
it their headquarters. The work of the Danes was com- 
paratively easy, for as the English were not distinguished 
as builders, they had not strengthened the fortifications of 
London. 

At the time of the occupation of London by the Danes, 
Alfred was king, and he made it his aim to recapture the 
city. He recognised the value of London as a possession, 
and in 884 the city fell into his hands. The name of 
Alfred is imperishably connected with London, and one 
of our historians goes so far as to say that he gave us 
London. At any rate in the year 886, Alfred determined 
to rebuild and strengthen the city. The English Chronicle 
says, " Alfred honourably rebuilt the city of London and 



HISTORY 107 

made it again habitable." Never again did the Danes 
conquer London, and from that date London has con- 
tinued to increase in wealth and prosperity. 

The Danish occupation of London may be traced in 
some of the names of its churches and streets. Not 
only, as we have seen, were churches dedicated to St 
Magnus, St Olave, and St Clement, but we are reminded 
of the Danish settlement by Tooley Street, which is a 
corruption of St Olaf's Street, and Gutter Lane, off 
Cheapside, which is said to be the modern form of 
Guthrum's Lane. 

The last event of importance in Old London was 
the building of Westminster Abbey by Edward the Con- 
fessor. This was not the Abbey that we see to-day, but 
it was a church built on what was then the swampy 
island of Thorney, and around it grew up the city of 
Westminster. 

During the early period of our history, London fought 
an uphill fight with Winchester for the position of chief 
city of England, and it was not till the reign of Edward 
the Confessor that it became the recognised capital of our 
country. This position was still further secured when 
William was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christ- 
mas Day, 1066 ; and in return for the submission of the 
citizens, William granted them a charter, which was of 
immense importance to them. Having gained possession 
of London, William proceeded to fortify the city. He 
enclosed a space of about twelve acres in the east of 
London, and gave orders to build the Tower. Gundulf, 
Bishop of Rochester, was the architect, and the White 



108 



WEST LONDON 



Tower as we see it to-day is the most important remnant 
of Norman London. 

In the year noo, Henry I granted the citizens of 
London a second charter, and from the advantages it 
conferred we may measure the growing importance of 
the city. We have the first record of the Mayor of 
London in 1190, when Henry Fitzailwin was elected 




The White Tower 



to that high position, which was held by him for twenty- 
four years. London was recognised as a communa, or fully 
organised corporation in 1191, and when King John was 
quarrelling with the barons, the Londoners took the side 
of the latter. The Magna Carta specially secured to 
London its rights and customs as obtained in previous 
charters, and gave it the power to elect its mayor annually. 
It also ordained that the Mayor of London should aid the 



HISTORY 109 

twenty-four lay peers to compel the king, by force of arms, 
to keep the Charter. 

The reign of Edward III was remarkable in the history 
of London, for royal charters were granted to some of the 
craft-gilds, and henceforward the Livery Companies had 
a direct share in the government of the city. The power 
of these companies was enormous, but it was mainly owing 
to them that London became the first industrial and com- 
mercial city in the kingdom. 

The Londoners of the time of Richard II showed 
their power, for they refused the king a loan, and though 
he deprived them of their charters, it was not long before 
they were restored. When Wat the Tiler and his followers 
entered London in 1381, John of Gaunt's palace in the 
Savoy was burnt, and some of the prisons were opened. 
While Richard himself was meeting some of the insurgents 
at Mile End, a large body of them broke into the Tower 
and murdered the Chancellor and the Treasurer, and 
other officials. Next day, Richard ventured again to meet 
them. Wat the Tiler, their spokesman, was so insolent 
that Walworth, the Mayor of London, cut him down. 
The angry multitude were dispersed after the king had 
promised that their grievances should be remedied. 

King Henry V entered London in triumph in 141 5, 
after his great victory at Agincourt. Richard Whittington, 
the mayor, entertained that king at a banquet at his own 
private house, and the citizens were most enthusiastic in 
their reception of the victorious monarch. The king 
attended a thanksgiving service at St Paul's, and then 
retired to his palace at Westminster. 



110 WEST LONDON 

The reign of Henry VI is memorable in the annals of 
London for the capture of the city by Jack Cade in 1450. 
With a large force of Kentishmen, Cade entered London 
without meeting with any resistance, and, riding up to 
London Stone, he struck it with his sword, exclaiming, 
" Now is Mortimer lord of this city." For three days 
his followers plundered and burnt, until by the exertions 
of the mayor and aldermen, the rebels, who had retired 
to Southwark, were shut out of the city. 

When the Wars of the Roses began, the Londoners 
espoused the cause of the Yorkists, and when Edward of 
York appeared before the gates of London the citizens 
received him with acclamation. A little later, the people 
met one Sunday in an open space near Clerkenwell, and 
with the familiar shout of " Yea ! Yea ! " they chose 
Edward IV to be their king, who to the day of his death 
was popular with the citizens of London. The story of 
London under the Plantagenets ends with the reign of 
Richard III, who like his brother, Edward IV, was 
invited by the mayor and chief citizens to be the King 
of England. 

During the Tudor period London continued to grow 
in importance. Reference will be made in another chapter 
to the dissolution of the religious houses in the reign of 
Henry VIII, but here we may note that London was the 
chief scene of the burning of "heretics" at Smithfield in 
the reign of Mary. When Elizabeth was on the throne, 
the capital showed its patriotism by its liberal contributions 
of men, money, and ships for the purpose of resisting the 
threatened attack of the Armada. 



HISTORY 111 

Under the Stuarts the history of London assumes 
even greater importance. Owing to the exactions of 
the Star Chamber it sided with the Roundheads, and 
became the centre of Presbyterianism and of opposition 
to the king. In 1648 the city was occupied by the 
Cromwellian troops, and in the following year Charles I 
was beheaded at Whitehall. Cromwell was proclaimed 
Lord Protector of England in 1653, ana * a ^ ter ms death 
London was occupied by Monk's troops. The year 1660 
witnessed the Restoration of Charles II, who was received 
back to his kingdom with the greatest satisfaction by 
Londoners. 

The reign of Charles II is memorable in the history 
of London for two great events. The Plague of 1665 
turned the capital into a city of mourning and desolation, 
and it is calculated that about 100,000 Londoners died of 
that fell disease. The following year witnessed another 
dire calamity, for the Great Fire destroyed no less than 
13,000 houses and 89 churches. This disaster, however, 
proved beneficial to London, for it was rebuilt in an 
improved form. Its streets were widened, and the wooden 
houses gave place to buildings of stone and brick. The 
Monument on Fish Street Hill was finished in 1677 as a 
memorial of the Great Fire. It is 202 feet high, and 
nearly 202 feet distant from the spot where the fire first 
broke out on September 2, 1666. 

It was not till the reign of Queen Anne that London 
began to assume anything like its present appearance. It 
was during her reign that the results were evident of 
Wren's rebuilding the Cathedral of St Paul's, and the 



m 




The Monument 



HISTORY 113 

many churches in the city. During the eighteenth 
century London increased in size and population, and 
during the latter part of that period some of its hand- 
somest streets were made, and some of its finest buildings 
erected. Great injury was inflicted on the city by the 
Gordon Riots of 1780. Lord George Gordon put him- 
self at the head of 40,000 rioters with the cry of " No 
Popery!" Some of the prisons were destroyed, the 
prisoners released, and mansions were burned or pillaged. 
The rioters were not subdued, till nearly three hundred 
had been killed and Lord George Gordon had been sent 
to the Tower. 

An important event in the social life of the city took 
place in 1803, when the lighting of the streets with gas 
was begun. Pall Mall was the first street so lighted, and 
Bishopsgate Street followed in a short time. The story 
of London throughout the nineteenth century is one of 
remarkable growth and expansion, and London has now 
made good its claim to be not only the largest, but also 
one of the finest cities in the world. The Metropolitan 
Board of Works was formed in 1855 to look after the 
sanitary arrangements of London, and in 1889 tnis Dod 7 
gave place to the London County Council, whose aim 
must be, in the words of Lord Rosebery, u to make it 
more and more worthy of its central position, of its great 
history, and of its immeasurable destinies." 



b. w. L, 



114 WEST LONDON 



16. Antiquities— Prehistoric, Roman 
Saxon. 

The conditions of man's existence on the earth during 
the early stages of his history are shrouded in obscurity. 
The earliest evidence of the presence of man in London 
is not by written records, but by implements of chipped 
flint. The very earliest of these implements belong to a 
time when our country was joined to the continent, and 
their age must be reckoned by thousands, if not by tens 
of thousands of years. 

Antiquaries have divided this early period of our 
country's history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, 
and the Early Iron Age. It must not be thought that, 
in the Bronze Age, stone had been discarded for many 
purposes, or that bronze was no longer in common use 
after the discovery of iron. On the contrary, each 
material survived long into the succeeding period; but this 
classification is convenient because it shows the material 
chiefly in use. These three Ages or Periods cover a vast 
extent of time, but it is not necessary to say how many 
years are included in each of them, for we cannot be 
certain when one age ended and the next began. 

The Stone Age has been further divided into the 
Palaeolithic or older section, in which the flint imple- 
ments were formed simply by chipping, and the Neolithic, 
or newer section, in which they were more carefully 
worked, and even polished. There is reason to suppose 
that an immense period of time separated the two Ages. 



ANTIQUITIES 



115 



Palaeolithic implements had no doubt been found before 
it was recognised that they belonged to a remote past ; but 
the first recorded discovery of the kind was made in London 
towards the end of the seventeenth century. A fine 




Palaeolithic Flint Implement found in Gray's Inn Road 

pear-shaped implement was found with an elephant's 
tooth near Gray's Inn Road, and was described, wrongly 
of course, as a British weapon. 

As London lies in the valleys of the Thames and Lea, 



116 WEST LONDON 

it is not at all remarkable that so many traces of man are 
found within the borders of the county. Both river- 
valleys have yielded many examples of flint weapons and 
implements of the Palaeolithic Age. In the bed of the 
Thames a good many specimens have been found at 
various times, and they are frequently brought up in the 
course of dredging operations. 

A palaeolithic floor has been traced at Stoke Newington, 
Stamford Hill, Kingsland, and in the City of London, and 
many specimens of flint implements from these localities 
are to be seen in the British Museum. Some flakes found 
at Stoke Newington Common and struck off by palaeo- 
lithic man from the same core are shown fitted together 
again, as evidence that the manufacture of flint implements 
took place on this site. 

In the Guildhall Museum there is a fine collection of 
London antiquities, and among them are implements from 
the river-drift gravels that have been discovered at Bishops- 
gate, Wandsworth, Clapton, and other places. The 
best way of learning about the stone implements is to visit 
either the British Museum or the Guildhall Museum, 
and there, with a good guide, carefully to examine 
them. 

When the Neolithic Age began, Great Britain had 
ceased to be a part of the continent and was an island. 
The climate had become more temperate and rather moist, 
while such animals as the mammoth had become extinct. 
Man had now learnt to train animals for domestic use ; 
and he cultivated cereals for food, and various plants to 
provide materials for woven garments. He used the bow 



ANTIQUITIES 117 

as his weapon, and he had also developed the art of 
making pottery. 

In the Neolithic Age, the implements and weapons 
were commonly hafted and made in a greater variety of 
forms ; and by the addition of grinding and polishing 
it was found possible to use other hard stones in addition 
to flint. While the grinding and polishing of stones may 
be considered the special characteristic of this period, it 
must not be supposed that this was always the case. For 
instance, a large and important class of implements and 
weapons, such as knives, scrapers, and arrow-heads were 
but rarely ground or polished, while even axes of fine 
workmanship were sometimes finished by simply chipping 
them. 

Among the implements found in London belonging 
to the Neolithic Age may be mentioned celts from 
Paddington and Southwark ; scrapers from London Wall 
and Battersea ; a flint knife from Addison Road, Ken- 
sington ; and flint flakes from Fulham and Hammersmith. 

As the Neolithic Age advanced, man gradually learnt 
the use of metal, and from this important step in human 
progress we find traces of his rapid advance in all directions. 
The period from the beginning of metallurgy down to the 
dawn of written history is generally divided into two 
parts : — an earlier or Bronze Age, and a later Age of 
Iron. Among the antiquities found in London belonging 
to the Bronze Age may be mentioned a bronze sword 
of leaf form from the Victoria Embankment, a bronze 
dagger-blade from the Thames, an implement of red 
deer-horn from Philpot Lane, and a fragment of pottery 



118 WEST LONDON 

ornamented with herring-bone pattern from Hammer- 
smith. Besides these antiquities, socketed celts, winged 
celts, and palstaves have been found in various parts of 
the county of London. 

Under the portico of the British Museum is a 
" dug-out " boat which probably dates from the Bronze 
Age. It belongs to a common type, formed out of a 
tree-trunk split lengthwise, the work of hollowing the 
interior being performed by tools of stone or bronze, and 
possibly by fire. A boat of this kind was found during ex- 
cavations for the Royal Albert Dock at North Woolwich 
in 1878. The oak trunk was carefully worked, the 
bottom and sides being flat and rectangular, but there 
are no signs of keel, stretchers, or rowlocks. 

When the knowledge of iron and the valuable pro- 
perties it possessed became known in Britain, it is probable 
that the new metal supplanted bronze in the manufacture 
of such implements as sword-blades, daggers, and knives. 
Iron is believed to have been brought into our country by 
the Brythons, a branch of the Celtic family, and from 
them our island received its name of Britain. During 
this age, man in Britain made great progress in culture 
and the arts, and the antiquities of this period bring us 
down to the conquest of Britain by the Romans. Many 
articles of great interest belonging to the Early Iron Age 
have been found in London, and they include all kinds of 
personal ornaments, such as fibulae, hair-pins, and rings, 
various implements and weapons of iron, such as knives, 
swords, and daggers, and many specimens of pottery, such 
as vases and urns. 



ANTIQUITIES 



119 



A bronze shield decorated with red enamel was found 
in the Thames near Battersea, and an examination of 
this impresses one with the beauty of the curves and 
the well-balanced proportions of the various parts. The 




Enamelled Bronze Shield 
{From the Thames at Battersea) 

boss of another shield was also found in the Thames near 
Wandsworth, and the decorations on it are produced 
by means of nearly complete circles, enclosing leaf-like 



120 WEST LONDON 

thickenings. Both these examples represent the very best 
work of the Early Iron Age, but there have been found 
other articles of great merit. A bronze brooch from the 
Thames, and a scabbard with mock spirals, also from 
the Thames at Wandsworth, are extremely interesting 
specimens of this period. 

Before we leave this early Iron Period, it may be well 
to ask what monuments are left in London to remind us 
of the early Celtic people in our land. Of prehistoric 
monuments in and around London there are only two, 
and they are the Hampstead Barrow and the River Walls. 
The Hampstead Barrow, locally called Boadicea's Grave, 
is of doubtful origin. It was opened in 1894, but nothing 
was found in it, so that it may be only a boundary hillock. 
With regard to the river walls, which may be seen from 
Barking on to Southend, the tradition is that they were 
first built by the Britons. There is no date for them ; 
but although they have been often repaired, they are 
practically the same as when first constructed. We found 
in the first chapter that the word London may remind us 
of the Britons, the early Celtic people in our land. If the 
word London is derived from Caer-Lud, after a King Lud 
of Celtic history, then we have in the present name of the 
county a direct link with this early period of our history. 

The Roman remains found in the county of London 
are very numerous, and from them we are able to picture 
to ourselves the life of its people two thousand years ago. 
It has been said that the two chief events in the 'history of 
Roman London are the building of the bridge and the 
building of the walls, but as both of these are considered 



ANTIQUITIES 121 

in other chapters, we need make no further reference to 
them here. 

Roman London is now a buried city, and all the 
remains of it have been found many feet below the 
level of the present streets. The smaller antiquities 
include personal ornaments, such as bronze fibulae, rings, 
brooches, hair-pins, ear-rings and gems, and many of 
these articles have been discovered in various parts of the 
City of London, especially in London Wall and Aldgate. 
Domestic utensils and appliances are frequently unearthed, 
and also such things as Roman balances, bowls of bronze, 
knives, and spoons, which have been found near the 
Mansion House, in Queen Victoria Street, and in London 
Wall. Iron lamps and lamps of glazed ware have been 
unearthed in Lothbury and Broad Street, and all kinds of 
tools, such as chisels, axes, adzes and piercers, have been 
discovered in London Wall and at Wapping. Very 
numerous discoveries have been made of metal objects 
such as bells, chains, and horse-furniture at Southwark, 
Austin Friars, and Walbrook. 

Among the more interesting Roman remains in London 
may be mentioned the figures and statuettes in metal, 
clay, and terra-cotta. In the Guildhall Museum there 
is a very fine collection of these objects, and statuettes 
of Apollo, Hercules, Juno, Mercury, Mars, and Venus 
are quite numerous. From them we get a good idea 
of Roman art, and also a realisation of the chief Roman 
deities. 

From the Roman remains in London we can also 
picture to ourselves the internal decoration of the houses 



122 WEST LONDON 

of the citizens. No less than 40 mosaic pavements, either 
complete or incomplete, have come to light, and of these 
the most beautiful and perfect is the mosaic pavement 
found in Bucklersbury in 1869. It is composed of red, 
white, grey, and black tesserae ; the lower and main 
portion is in the form of a parallelogram, while the 
upper part is semi-circular. The central device is a 
floral design, surrounded by a cabled band, and enclosed 
within two squares of ornament placed at different angles, 
having a floral device at each corner. Between the upper 
and lower portions is a broad band of floral scrolls. The 
upper semi-circular portion has a fan-shaped device in the 
centre, above which is a pattern of scale ornament, and 
the border consists of a knotted band. The whole design 
of this fine mosaic pavement is enclosed in a border of 
red tesserae. 

Roman glass and pottery have been found very ex- 
tensively in various parts of London. The glass urns and 
bottles, as well as bowls, cups, and dishes of glass are 
of considerable value on account of their form and colour, 
and the pottery of various wares makes perhaps the most 
striking appeal to a visitor to the Guildhall Museum. 
Here may be seen urns, vases, bowls, and cups of Samian 
and Upchurch wares, which have been dug out in Aldgate, 
London Wall, Bishopsgate, Lombard Street, and other 
places. In 1677, on the site of the present St Paul's, a 
Roman kiln was discovered, where coarse pottery, as well 
as all kinds of tiles, were manufactured. 

The Romans had burial-places and tombs in Bow Lane, 
Camomile Street, Cornhill, and St Paul's Churchyard, 



ANTIQUITIES 



123 



and sarcophagi of stone and marble have been found 
at Clapton and the Minories. Leaden coffins were dis- 
covered at Old Ford in 1844, and at Bethnal Green in 
1862, and monumental stones and slabs are sometimes 
unearthed. In 191 1, a Roman galley was found when 
excavating for the foundations of the new County Hall at 
Lambeth. It is nearly 50 feet long and weighs more 




Roman Boat, found near Lambeth, 1911 

than six tons. It has been removed to Kensington and 
will be kept in the London Museum now being formed. 

There is one other relic of Roman London to which 
we must briefly refer. London Stone is built into the 
south wall of St Swithin's Church in Cannon Street. 
It is probably an old Roman mile-stone, which may have 
marked the beginning of the first mile on the Watling 
Street. London Stone is one of the most valued relics 



124 



WEST LONDON 



of London, and in the Middle Ages it was very greatly 
esteemed. 

When we pass from the Roman period to the time of 
the Saxons, we find a positive dearth of antiquities to 
represent this later age. Besant says u there is nothing, 








London Stone, Cannon Street 
{From an old print) 



absolutely not one single stone, to illustrate Saxon London," 
but he thinks that some of the columns in Westminster 
Abbey and the Chapel of the Pyx represent the work of 
the Confessor. In 1774 an earthen vessel containing 
coins of Edward, Harold, and William was found near 
St Mary-at-Hill, and an enamelled ouche in gold of the 



ANTIQUITIES 125 

ninth century was discovered near Dowgate Hill. Personal 
ornaments and requisites of metal, bone, and horn, as well 
as weapons and tools of the Saxon period, have been dug 
up in various parts, but they are not of sufficient im- 
portance to be specified. 

What has survived to remind us of early London 
is of more importance perhaps than many relics. The 
names of many streets such as Cheapside, Ludgate, 
Bishopsgate, Coleman Street, Cornhill, Walbrook, and 
Gracechurch Street are without doubt of Saxon origin ; 
and the churches dedicated to St Botolph, St Ethelburga, 
and All Hallows remind us of some of the Saxon saints. 
Again, the influence of the Saxons is evident by the 
usage to-day of such words as alderman and sheriff, and 
of the name of the meeting-place of the councillors — the 
Guildhall. 

17. Architecture — (a) Ecclesiastical. 
Medieval Churches. Wren's 
Churches. Chapels Royal. 

When we consider the ecclesiastical architecture of 
London, we find that it occupies quite a different position 
from that of our other English counties. In them we 
know that there are hundreds of old English churches, 
some dating from Norman and even earlier times, but in 
London the majority of the churches are modern. This 
fact, of course, is largely owing to the Great Fire of 1666, 
which swept away some of the finest churches of the 
earlier periods. 



126 WEST LONDON 

Before we notice the results of the Great Fire, it will 
be well to glance at the ecclesiastical condition of London 
before 1666. Perhaps the first thing that strikes us is 
the large number of parishes, each with its own church, 
within the walls of ancient London. Fitzstephen tells us 
that in his time there were 13 large conventual churches, 
and 126 lesser parochial churches; and later Stow, the 
great historian of London, gives a list of 125 churches, 
including St Paul's and Westminster Abbey. 

At the present time the City of London has many 
fine churches, and from the Surrey side of the Thames 
one is struck with the lofty steeples and spires that tower 
in their beauty above the warehouses and places of 
business. Let us think for a moment what place the 
church occupied in the medieval life of London. Then 
the resident population of the City was much greater than 
it is now, and many of the parishes were very small. At 
every street corner rose a church, and the City was filled 
with priests, friars, and other ministers of the church. 
While some of the churches were small, many were rich 
and costly buildings, which had been beautified and 
adorned by the loving thought of many generations. 

The church then occupied a large part of the daily 
life of the people, who were expected to attend service in 
their parish churches. The gilds and trade companies 
went to church in state. All the people belonged to the 
Church and its services were part of their life, as much 
as their work, their food, and their rest. 

We need not go into details as to the changes that 
were brought about by the Reformation, or to the ravages 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 127 

of the Great Fire. We may note, however, in passing 
that 89 churches were destroyed in 1666, and of them 
only 45 were rebuilt. Among the churches that escaped 
the Great Fire were St Giles' Cripplegate, St Helen 
Bishopsgate, St Bartholomew's Smithfield, St Katherine 
Cree Leadenhall Street, All Hallows Barking, St Olave 
Hart Street, St Etheldreda Ely Place, St Ethelburga 
Bishopsgate Street, St Andrew Undershaft, and the 
Church of the Austin Friars. Pepys the diarist has the 
following observation on the subject of the London 
churches destroyed in the Great Fire: — "It is observed 
and is true in the late Fire of London, that the fire burned 
just as many parish churches as there were hours from the 
beginning to the end of the Fire ; and next, that there 
were just as many churches left standing as there were 
taverns left in the rest of the City that was not burned, 
being, I think, thirteen in all of each, which is pretty to 
observe." 

There are, however, remains of early and medieval 
churches in London, which are worth considering and 
are representative of all styles of English architecture. 
The successive periods of English church architecture are 
generally given as Norman, Early English, Decorated, and 
Perpendicular, and range in date from the eleventh to the 
sixteenth century. 

The Norman period of church architecture was from 
1070 to the later part of the twelfth century; and of 
early Norman work London has some good examples in 
the chapel of St John in the White Tower, and the 
crypt under the church of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside. 



128 WEST LONDON 

The choir of St Bartholomew, Smithfield, and some 
details in the nave of St Saviour's Cathedral, Southwark, 
illustrate later Norman work. 

Towards the end of the twelfth century the round 
arches and heavy columns of Norman work began 
gradually to give place to the pointed arch and lighter 
style of the period of English church architecture known 
as Early English, which is so conspicuous for its long 
narrow windows. The choir and eastern chapels of 
St Saviour's Cathedral and Lambeth Palace Chapel 
exhibit the Early English style at its best. The transepts 
and choir of Westminster Abbey are most glorious examples 
of Early English, and this building illustrates English 
Gothic architecture in all its phases. 

The Early English style flourished from 1154 to 1270 
and gave place to the highest development of Gothic — 
the Decorated, which prevailed throughout the greater 
part of the fourteenth century, and was particularly 
characterised by its window tracery. The chapel of 
St Etheldreda in Ely Place, Holborn, and the lower 
chapel of St Stephen in the Houses of Parliament, 
illustrate the Early Decorated, while the windows in the 
nave of the Austin Friars' Church, and the south transept 
of St Saviour's Cathedral, give a good idea of the work of 
the Late Decorated period. 

The Perpendicular is the name given to the last 
period of Gothic architecture in England. It established 
itself towards the end of the fourteenth century and was in 
use till about the middle of the sixteenth century. The 
Perpendicular, which, as its name implies, is remarkable 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTIC AL 1 29 

for the perpendicular arrangement of the tracery, and also 
for the flattened arches and the square arrangement of 
the mouldings over them, is only seen in England. It 
is to the Perpendicular period that the old churches 
situated in the northern and eastern parts of the City 
chiefly belong. They are St Giles's Cripplegate, St Helen's 
and St Ethelburga's Bishopsgate, St Andrew Undershaft, 
St Olave's Hart Street, All Hallows Barking, and St Peter 
ad Vincula within the Tower. 

There is not space to go into details with regard to 
the old churches of the parishes outside the City of 
London. As a rule they are not elaborate, and offer few 
examples of artistic detail. In no way do they compare 
favourably with those of Essex, Suffolk, or Norfolk, either 
in point of size or beauty of parts. Plainness and 
simplicity are the characteristics of these old churches; 
and the plans are almost always a nave and chancel, 
a south porch, and a western tower. Their architects 
had to build with the materials they could command ; and 
as these were different from what are found elsewhere, 
these churches are unlike those in the City of London, 
where the most expensive materials were used in the 
fabrics of the fine churches within the walls. 

It will be recognised that the previous remarks apply 
only to those churches in the county of London prior 
to the Reformation. From that period to the Great 
Fire, there was little church-building. But when the 
Great Fire wrought such havoc it was decided to erect 
53 new churches upon the sites of those burnt, or so 
much damaged as to require rebuilding. Sir Christopher 

B. w. l. 9 



130 WEST LONDON 

Wren was the great architect to whom was entrusted 
this work of church building and restoration, and it is 
generally acknowledged that the results were excellent. 
A recent writer says that " Nothing that has been 
achieved in modern architecture has surpassed the beauty 




Sir Christopher Wren 

of their steeples, not only from the elegance of each, 
but for their complete variety, while at the same time 
in harmony with one another. No two are alike. The 
view of the City of London from the old Blackfriars 
Bridge — up to the middle of the last century — must have 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 131 

been scarcely surpassed in any country : and all this was 
the work of one man ! " 




St Clement Danes, Strand 



Among the best of Wren's churches in the western 
part of London the following are the most noteworthy : 

9-2 



132 WEST LONDON 

St Andrew's Holborn, St Anne's Soho, St Clement 
Danes in the Strand, and St James's, Piccadilly. Wren's 
churches are remarkable for the variety and originality 
shown in their design ; their elegant proportions are 
noteworthy and satisfactory ; and it may safely be said 
that no subsequent English architect has approached the 
fine work of Wren. 

His work was continued by his pupils, more especially 
by Nicholas Hawksmoor and James Gibbs. The fine 
church of St Mary-le-Strand, built at the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, was designed by Gibbs, although 
borrowed almost entirely from Wren. The church of 
St Martin-in-the-Fields is another building of this period, 
and of the Renaissance style of architecture. Perhaps this 
is one of the most successful of the designs of Gibbs, 
forming a composition worthy of Wren himself. The 
chief features are the great spire and fine portico at the 
west end. 

The church of St George, Bloomsbury, was designed 
by Hawksmoor. It has a very fine portico, which may 
have been suggested by that at St Martin-in-the-Fields. 
St George's is said to be the only church which has a 
statue upon the steeple. The statue is a full-sized 
figure of George I clad in a Roman toga, and was the 
gift of a great admirer of that king. This steeple has 
been called ridiculous, but the other parts of the church 
show some really fine features. 

It was during the reign of Queen Anne that it was 
decided to build 50 new churches in London, and of 
these it may be said generally that they are of the Palladian 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 133 

character and exhibit solidity and grand proportions. St 
John's Westminster, was the second of the 50 churches. 




St George's Church, Bloomsbury 

It was designed by Archer, and is remarkable for its 
semi-circular arches on the east and west, and for its 



134 WEST LONDON 

quartette of belfries, one at each of the four corners. 
The best known of Queen Anne's 50 new churches is 
St George's, Hanover Square, which was built in 1724. 
It has a fine classical portico, with a pediment supported 
by six Corinthian pillars, and possesses some good sixteenth 
century windows brought over from Mechlin. 

The church architecture of London was largely 
affected in the nineteenth century by the Oxford Revival, 
and the Classical style of Wren and his successors gave 
place to the Gothic. Such architects as Scott, Butterfield, 
Pearson, Street, and Bodley designed some of the finest 
modern churches in London. We may specially mention 
St Giles's Camberwell, St Andrew's Well Street, and 
St Mary Abbots Kensington by Scott, and All Saints 
Margaret Street, and St Albans' Holborn by Butterfield, 
as giving the most satisfactory expression to the eccle- 
siastical Gothic, and its adaptability for purposes of 
Christian worship. There is a more recent church than 
either of those mentioned, which even better exemplifies 
the beauty of the Gothic style of architecture — the 
church of the Holy Trinity in Upper Chelsea, designed 
by Sedding, which gave opportunity for many of the 
most distinguished artists and craftsmen of the Victorian 
period to use their varied gifts. In the interior there is 
work by William Morris, Burne-Jones, Onslow Ford, 
Hamo Thornycroft and others. The special features of 
the church are seen in the skilful blending of red and 
yellow brick with stone, and in its style, which is a 
mingling of English Perpendicular with the Flamboyant 
of France. The dimensions of the church are unusually 




The Roman Catholic Cathedral, Westminster 



136 WEST LONDON 

large, for it has a length of 150 feet, and a height of 
60 feet. 

The most original architectural effort of which 
London can boast is the fine Westminster Cathedral. 
This vast building is of red brick and in the Byzantine 
style. The architect, J. F. Bentley, who died before the 
completion of the work, reared a building of grand pro- 
portions, and one that is impressive by its simplicity. The 
outstanding feature is the lofty campanile tower, 283 
feet in height, and the highest in the world. 

Among the churches of London, the Chapels Royal 
occupy a unique position. They are directly connected 
with the Court, and are governed by the Dean and 
the Sub-Dean. The chapels within St James's Palace, 
Buckingham Palace, and Marlborough House constitute 
the Chapels Royal in London. The Chapel Royal, 
Savoy, is a Royal Peculiar, and beyond the jurisdiction 
of the Dean of the Chapels Royal. The chapel was 
built under the will of Henry VIII, and was used as 
a parish church down to 17 17. George III made it 
a Chapel Royal, and it is now in the patronage of the 
King as Duke of Lancaster. 

The Inns of Court have their own chapels, and 
besides the Temple Church, which is mentioned in the 
volume on East London, there are Lincoln's Inn Chapel, 
and Gray's Inn Chapel. The former was erected on part 
of the site of the Monastery of the Black Friars by Inigo 
Jones in 1623, and the latter was built in the reign of 
Henry VII. " 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 137 

18. Architecture — (6) Ecclesiastical. 
Westminster Abbey. 

Westminster Abbey, or, to give its full title, the 
Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, is the most 
famous building in London, and has always occupied an 
exceptional position among the churches of England. It 
is famous not only for what it is, but for what it contains. 
It is the national Valhalla : — 

" A place of tombs, 
Where lie the mighty bones of ancient men." 

It has, moreover, the charm of architectural beauty, and 
the abiding associations of a thousand years. The Abbey, 
indeed, occupies a site that has been in use for nearly two 
thousand years, for, when a grave was being dug some 
few years ago, a Roman wall was found in situ ; and 
a Roman sarcophagus found to the north of the nave 
may be seen in the vestibule of the Chapter House. 

Westminster Abbey was a Benedictine foundation, 
and its abbot was one of the greatest men in the realm. 
As a mitred abbot he sat in the House of Lords, and 
gave precedence only to the abbot of St Albans. West- 
minster was one of the most important of the Benedictine 
houses, but when first the abbey church arose is uncertain. 
Its position on Thorney, or the Isle of Thorns, was 
admirably adapted for an abbey, for the soil was of gravel 
and sand, and the streams on either side were used as a 
harbour for the boats and for drainage purposes. The 
Thames was on the east, and so served as a means 



138 WEST LONDON 

of transport for the timber and stone, besides providing 
the fish, for the river was then full of salmon. 

The legends connected with the history of the Abbey 
carry us back to 616, when the first church is said to 
have been founded by King Sebert, whose reputed tomb 
is still shown in the Abbey. The church was dedicated 
to St Peter, and Matthew Arnold has written a charming 
poem on the events connected with its consecration by 
Mellitus, Bishop of London. It is a matter of history 
that this first church at Westminster was built on the site 
of a Roman temple to Apollo; and it is now generally 
accepted that it was called Westminster, because it was 
the minster west of the Abbey of St Mary, or East 
Minster in the City of London. 

With regard to the early history of Westminster 
Abbey we have the record of a monastery being here in 
the tenth century; and it is quite certain that there was 
an important church on the site when Edward the Con- 
fessor raised his building, parts of which remain to this 
day. Edward the Confessor began his church in 1055, 
and part of it was consecrated 28th December, 1065, 
a few days before the Confessor passed away. The 
building of the nave began about 1100, and was probably 
finished by 1 163. The new church, like the old one, 
was dedicated to St Peter, who was one of the Confessor's 
patron saints. Edward himself was canonised in 1163, 
when his bones were translated to a shrine. Hence it is 
that we connect Westminster Abbey with the Confessor, 
although the present building is almost entirely of a later 
period. 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 139 

For many years the Confessor's church was large 
enough for all purposes, but early in the thirteenth 
century there began a movement in church building 
which is one of the most remarkable features of a 
wonderful century. Henry III was a lover and patron 
of art, but his chief passion was architecture. He was 
always building, and for the Abbey at Westminster it 
is said " he impoverished himself and London and the 
whole kingdom to such an extent as to bring himself 
into conflict with London and the nation at large." 

Henry III began the rebuilding of the Abbey in 
1245, ar, d the work was still in progress up to the day 
of that king's death in 1272. It has been calculated that 
Henry spent no less a sum than ^750,000 of our money 
on this great work. In all parts of the building every- 
thing was of the best, and it was the ardent desire of the 
king to surpass the finest work of England and France. 
He poured out his money without stint, and left the 
church practically as we see it to-day from the eastern 
apse above St Edward's shrine to the western doorway 
of the nave. 

On the death of Henry III in 1272, the great work 
of rebuilding the Abbey was stopped. The Edwards 
cared little for the Abbey, and the first real start was 
made by Richard II, who was devoted to it. Henry VII, 
however, had most to do with the completion of the 
Abbey, and the last of his great works was the rebuilding 
of the Lady Chapel, which was commenced in 1502. 
In 1509 Henry VII died, and this magnificent Perpen- 
dicular chapel has since been known by his name. 



140 WEST LONDON 

Henry VII's chapel shows us Gothic architecture at 
its best, and is far in advance of anything of the same 
date in England, or on the Continent. A competent 
modern authority says that " the vault, to begin with, 
is the most wonderful work of masonry ever put together 
by the hand of man," and Leland styled this Royal 
Chapel an " Orbis miraculum." 

The later history of Westminster Abbey may be 
briefly told. In 1539 the convent was dissolved, and the 
treasures of the church were carried off by Henry VIII. 
The abbot and monks were replaced by a dean and 
twelve prebendaries, and in 1540 the church became the 
seat of a bishop, and for ten years was a cathedral. In 
Mary's reign the old religion was restored, and the Abbey 
was occupied by an abbot and fifteen monks; but when 
Elizabeth came to the throne, the abbot and monks were 
once again superseded by dean and prebendaries. 

It will thus be seen that, having been built by many 
kings and in many centuries, the Abbey is in several 
styles, ranging from the Norman in the oldest parts, 
through the Early English and Decorated, to the Per- 
pendicular of the Tudor period. Finally we have the 
western towers, erected from the designs of Sir Christopher 
Wren, in a style of mixed Grecian and Gothic. 

The interior of the Abbey is in the form of a Latin 
cross, and is generally entered by the great triple entrance 
called "Solomon's Porch." Passing through this approach 
we stand in the north transept, and opposite, in the south 
transept, is the great rose-window overhead. A reference 
to the plan of the Abbey will show that between the 



142 WEST LONDON 

transepts is the crossing, having the sanctuary on the 
east, and the nave on the west of it. Behind the 
sanctuary is the Chapel of Edward the Confessor, which 
is encircled by the ambulatory. Round the ambulatory 
are various chapels, a splendid series, of which the most 
magnificent is Henry VII's Chapel. 

We will now glance at the chief features of the 
Abbey, following, as a rule, the order we have indicated. 
The north transept may be called the Statesmen's transept, 
and the first monument to arrest attention is that to the 
elder Pitt, Lord Chatham. Here, too, are the inscribed 
stones covering the graves of the rival statesmen, Pitt and 
Fox, to which Scott refers in the lines : — 

"The mighty chiefs sleep side by side; 
Drop upon Fox's grave the tear, 
'Twill trickle to his rival's bier." 

Palmerston and Canning, Castlereagh and Peel, Beacons- 
field and Gladstone are among our statesmen who are 
worthily commemorated by statues in the north transept. 
The south transept is crowded with monuments, 
mainly memorials of poets. It goes by the name of 
Poets' Corner. Many of the monuments are of people 
who were not buried in the Abbey, nor were in any way 
connected with its history. Here was buried the poet 
Chaucer, who had lived in the precincts as clerk of the 
works to the king. He died poor in 1400, and his 
ashes were transferred to the existing tomb in 1500. 
There are monuments to Spenser and Milton, to Shake- 
speare and Ben Jonson, to Dryden and Burns, and to 




Shrine of Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey 



144 WEST LONDON 

many another poet of more or less merit. On the floor 
we notice that a red slab marks the grave of Browning, 
and a black slab that of Tennyson. Truly a goodly 
company of sweet singers is commemorated in Poets' 
Corner. The inscriptions are, however, of varying merit. 
On Ben Jonson's slab is the terse inscription, " O rare 
Ben Jonson ! " and on Gay's tablet is the flippant 
couplet : — 

"Life is a jest, and all things show it, 
I thought so once, and now I know it." 

The railed sanctuary raised on steps is beneath the 
central tower or lantern. The altar and reredos are 
modern, and the pavement is of coloured marbles. Here 
is the oldest contemporary portrait of any English 
sovereign. It is of Richard II and is probably a good 
portrait of that monarch, although it has been much 
restored. The three finest monuments in the Abbey 
are in the sanctuary, and are to Edmund Crouch- 
back, Aveline, Countess of Lancaster, and Aymer de 
Valence. 

St Edward's Chapel, or Chapel of the Kings, has the 
shrine of St Edward in the centre, and this is encircled by 
the tombs of the Plantagenet kings and Henry V. In this 
chapel there is the coronation chair made for Edward I 
to hold the stone of Scone, and the sword and shield of 
state said to have been carried before Edward III in his 
French wars. This chapel may be considered in many 
respects as the most interesting of all the chapels, and one 
recalls the lines of Francis Beaumont : — 




Coronation Chair, Westminster Abbey 



B. W. L. 



10 



146 WEST LONDON 

" Mortality, behold and feare, 
What a change of flesh is here! 
Think how many royal bones 
Sleep within this heap of stones; 
Here they lye, had realmes and lands, 
Who now want strength to stir their hands." 

More than any other part of the Abbey this chapel 
remains as Henry III its second founder left it. It was 
that art-loving king who lavished wealth in making the 
rich and glorious shrine for the relics of the Confessor, 
and it seems only fit and proper that it should be marked 
out, as it were, by its height above the rest of the Abbey. 

The ambulatory need not detain us long. It has the 
reputed tomb of King Sebert, traditional founder of 
West Minster in the seventh century, and also the iron 
grille protecting the tomb of Queen Eleanor. We have 
not space to give details of the chapels around the 
ambulatory, but we may quote Washington Irving, who 
wrote thus of them : " I wandered among what once 
were chapels, but which are now occupied by tombs and 
monuments of the great. At every turn I met with 
rare illustrious names, or the cognizance of some powerful 
house renowned in history. As the eye darts into these 
dusky chambers of death, it catches glimpses of quaint 
effigies; some kneeling in niches as if in devotion; others 
stretched upon the tombs, with hands piously pressed 
together; warriors in armour as if reposing after battles; 
prelates with crosiers and mitres; and nobles in robes and 
coronets lying as it were in state." 

We have already mentioned that of all the chapels in 



ARCHITECTURE— ECCLESIASTICAL 147 

Westminster Abbey, Henry the Seventh's is the most 
magnificent, and it is also one of the finest Perpendicular 
buildings in England. It is approached by a flight of 
steps, and consists of a nave and two aisles, with little 
chapels round the apse. Overhead is a wonderful fan 
vault, said to be "the greatest achievement in mason-craft 
in the whole world." On either side of the chapel are 
the stalls, once occupied by the monks, and the banners 
above are those of the Knights of the Bath. In the 
centre of the chapel are the tombs of Henry VII and 
his wife Elizabeth of York, and almost all the sovereigns 
of England from the time of the first Tudor king have 
been buried here. 

The nave of the Abbey has been called "a veritable 
city of the dead," for it contains every kind of memorial — 
bust, statue, tablet, and tomb. Memorial slabs mark the 
graves of Darwin, Sir John Herschel, and Lord Kelvin, 
and there are busts or statues of Wordsworth, Keble, 
Kingsley, and Matthew Arnold. In the centre of the 
nave the greatest of African travellers is buried, and 
the single word " Livingstone " is his epitaph. 

Leaving the interior of the Abbey we pass out into 
the cloisters on the south side. The central garth has 
always been a lawn or a garden, and the present cloisters 
are on the site of the Norman structure. There are 
effigies of several of the early abbots ; and at the south-east 
corner of the cloisters are remains of Edward the Confessor's 
buildings, including the chapel of the pyx, which was 
originally the abbey treasury, and contained the "pyx," or 
box in which the standards of gold and silver were kept. 



148 WEST LONDON 

From the east cloister we reach the chapter house, 
a beautiful octagonal structure, supported by massive 
flying buttresses. It was built by Henry III, and all 
round it are seats for the monks, who used it for 300 
years. It is, however, historically interesting as the first 
home of the House of Commons, and was so used till the 
end of the reign of Henry VIII. The chapter house has 
been carefully restored, and its windows filled with stained 
glass. It has some glass cases containing fragments of 
sculpture, coins, and ancient documents connected with 
the Abbey. 

Here we must close our brief survey of Westminster 
Abbey, so well called by Macaulay "that temple of 
silence and reconciliation where the enmities of twenty 
generations lie buried." 

Exactly in front of the Abbey is the church of 
St Margaret, which in this position serves as a foil to 
bring out the grand proportions of the structure behind 
it. Down to 1858, this church used to be attended four 
times in the year by the members of the House of 
Commons in state; and even now on particular occasions 
it serves as the official church of the Commons. The 
present church was built by Edward I on the site of an 
earlier church of Edward the Confessor, but was much 
restored and improved in the nineteenth century. Perhaps 
the most interesting feature in St Margaret's is the 
beautiful east window depicting the crucifixion. It is 
noteworthy that Caxton and Sir Walter Raleigh were 
buried here, and there are windows in memory of both 
these great men and other celebrities. 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 1 49 

19. Architecture — (c) Domestic. Royal 
and Episcopal Palaces: The Tower, 
Westminster, Whitehall, The 
Savoy, St James's, Kensington, 
Buckingham, Lambeth, and 
Fulham. Houses : Staple Inn, 
Holland House, etc. 

It will be remembered that, in the time of the 
Heptarchy, London was the capital of the kingdom of 
Essex, while Winchester occupied a higher position as 
the seat of the Wessex kingdom. After the Norman 
Conquest, however, London became the capital of 
England and the royal city, for William the Conqueror 
recognised its pre-eminent claims, owing to its river 
situation, by building the Tower, which was his palace. 
In course of time the Tower became merely a state 
prison, although it retained its palatial name and rank till 
the reign of Elizabeth. 

The second palace of London was built at West- 
minster, under the shadow of the Abbey, by William 
Rufus. Of this Westminster palace little remains except 
the fine Westminster Hall, rebuilt by Richard II on the 
foundations of the original hall of William II. This, 
however, is sufficient to give us an idea of the scale ot 
Norman taste and hospitality, and we are not surprised to 
find that Westminster Palace continued to be the chief 
residence of English kings for the greater part of the next 



150 WEST LONDON 

five centuries. In the reign of Edward VI the chapel of 
St Stephen, belonging to this Norman palace, was given 
up to the House of Commons, and from this time forward 
to its destruction by fire in 1834 it was the seat of the 
Houses of Parliament, and of the Law Courts till 1882. 
Even now we speak of the Houses of Parliament as the 
Palace of Westminster. 

Whitehall became the palace of the kings of England 
in the reign of Henry VIII and so continued to that of 
William III. It was originally called York House, and 
was handed to Henry VIII on the disgrace of Cardinal 
Wolsey, Archbishop of York. Henry VIIFs Whitehall 
Palace was a building in the Tudor style of architecture, 
something like Hampton Court, with a succession of 
galleries and courts, a large hall, chapel, and banqueting- 
house. James I intended to rebuild the whole palace, and 
Inigo Jones prepared designs for a magnificent structure, 
but nothing came of it beyond the present banqueting- 
house. This is deservedly looked upon as a model of 
Palladian architecture, and one of the finest buildings, in 
London. In the reign of William III, the whole of 
Whitehall, except the banqueting-house, was destroyed by 
fire. The present banqueting-house was built between 
161 9 and 1622 from the designs of Inigo Jones, and it 
may be noted as one of the ironies of history that Charles I, 
son of James I, " was led all along the galleries and 
banqueting-house, and there was a passage broken through 
the wall, by which the king passed unto the scaffold." 

The Savoy Palace was built in 1245 by Peter of Savoy. 
It was burnt by Wat the Tiler and his followers in 138 1, but 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 



151 



was afterwards restored. The Savoy Conference was 
held here in 1661, and the building was pulled down in 
1817-19. 

The present London palaces of our king are St James's 
Palace, Buckingham Palace, and Kensington Palace. 
St James's Palace is an irregular brick building at the 




The Savoy Palace, 1661 



bottom of St James's Street, and was the only London 
palace of our sovereign from the time of the destruction 
of Whitehall in the reign of William III to the occupation 
of Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria. It was altered 
or rebuilt by Henry VIII, who annexed the present park, 
enclosed it with a brick wall, and thus connected it with 



152 



WEST LONDON 



the palace of Whitehall. Little remains of the old palace 
except the brick gateway facing St James's Street, but there 
are many memories connected with it. Queen Mary I 
died here, and Charles II was born here. It was here, 
too, that Charles I passed his last night before his execu- 
tion, walking the next morning "from St James's through 
the park, guarded with a regiment of foot and partisans" 




St James's Palace 

to the scaffold before Whitehall. Most of the Georges 
lived at St James's Palace, and although it is no longer 
a royal residence, the British Court is still officially known 
as the "Court of St James's." 

Kensington Palace is a large and irregular building, 
which was bought by William III from the Earl of 
Nottingham. The higher storey was added by William III 
from the designs of Wren, who also planned the orangery, 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 



153 



a very fine detached building and a masterpiece of archi- 
tecture of the period. William III and Queen Mary, 



Queen Anne, and George II 
Victoria was born here in i! 



died here, and Queen 
iq, and held her first 



Council in 1837. A large part of Kensington Palace is 
now used as a residence for members of the royal family ; 
but the State Rooms, by the command of Queen Victoria, 




Kensington Palace 

were thrown open to the public on the occasion of her 
eightieth birthday. King Edward VII recently allowed 
the public to use the gardens, which form a favourite 
resort in summer-time for thousands of Londoners. 

Buckingham Palace, in St James's Park, was begun 
in the reign of George IV, and is the most modern 
of the royal palaces. It is on the site of Buckingham 



154 



WEST LONDON 



House, an old mansion of the Duke of Buckingham, 
and was completed in the reign of William IV. 
When Queen Victoria came to the throne several altera- 
tions and additions were made to it, and the palace 
became the royal residence in July, 1837. Since that 
date it has been further enlarged, and is now the largest 
of the royal palaces. The chief front is that which faces 




Buckingham Palace 



west, overlooking the beautiful gardens and grounds. 
The east front was added in 1 846, and is somewhat heavy 
n effect. The whole building is in the form of a large 
quadrangle, and though not beautiful from an architectural 
point of view, is imposing from its size. The state rooms 
are magnificent ; the throne room, 60 feet long, is 
decorated in crimson satin and gold, its ceiling being 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 155 

lavishly adorned and painted. The principal events of 
the London season are the " Courts " and occasional state 
balls, which are attended by as many as 2000 persons. 
The state rooms and the private apartments contain many 
interesting royal portraits and other pictures. Of the 
national memorial to Queen Victoria designed by Sir 
Aston Webb, R.A., with its statue of Queen Victoria by 
Mr Thomas Brock, R.A., embellished with allegorical 
figures of Truth and Justice, and a group emblematic of 
Motherhood we have already spoken. 

There are two episcopal palaces in London — Lambeth 
the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Fulham, 
the residence of the Bishop of London. The earliest 
reference to the former is in the reign of Edward the 
Confessor, when the Manor of Lambeth was given to 
the see of Rochester, but in 1 197 it was exchanged for 
the Manor of Dartford, which was in the possession of 
the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since that date Lambeth 
Palace has been the London residence of the Primate, 
and has played an important part in our history. 

The present building exhibits various gradations in 
its architecture from Early English to late Perpendicular. 
It is entered through a Gothic gatehouse of red brick, the 
lower floor of which was used as a prison. The chapel 
is the oldest part of the building, and was built by 
Boniface, Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1 244-1 270. 
It is Early English in style, with lancet windows, 
crypt, and a gorgeous modern groined roof. In this 
chapel all the Archbishops since the time of Boniface 
have been consecrated, and although it suffered much 



" 




ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 157 

during the Cromwellian period, it has since been carefully 
restored. The Lollards' Tower at the west end of the 
chapel dates from the middle of the fifteenth century, and 
is so called from the Lollards, who are said, incorrectly, 
to have been imprisoned in it. 

The hall of the palace was built by Archbishop Juxon, 
who attended Charles I to the scaffold. The open oak 
roof is the finest feature of the hall, and the walls are hung 
with a long series of portraits of the Archbishops. The 
library was founded by Archbishop Bancroft, and is rich 
in historical and state manuscripts, illuminated service 
books and missals. Here we must leave Lambeth Palace, 
for it has been said, with a considerable amount of truth, 
that " a complete history of the Archbishop's residence at 
Lambeth would be a history of England." 

We may now turn to Fulham Palace, which is said to 
be the oldest inhabited house in England. Whether this 
be so or not, we know that the Manor of Fulham was 
granted in 831 to Erkenwald, Bishop of London, and 
during all the intervening period, with the exception of a 
few years in the Cromwell regime, it has remained in the 
possession of the See of London. The palace dates in 
part from the reign of Henry VII, and though of no 
architectural pretensions, it looks impressive from its 
antique appearance. The building consists of two quad- 
rangles, and the well-wooded grounds are enclosed in a 
moat nearly a mile in circumference. The library, once 
used as the chapel, is perhaps the most interesting part of 
the building. Its walls are hung with portraits of all the 
Bishops of London from the Reformation to the present 




Fulham Palace 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 



159 



day, and in its windows are the armorial bearings of 
various prelates. 

Now, leaving the royal and episcopal palaces, we may 
pass on to consider some of the more interesting houses in 
the western portion of London. The City of London is 
the centre of the business of the metropolis, and has the 
chief banks, exchanges, markets, and warehouses, while 




Northumberland House 



from the residential point of view East London is the 
home of the working-classes. The City of Westminster, 
on the other hand, is the centre of the official life of 
London, and, within recent years, has been largely 
rebuilt. Many imposing buildings have been erected, 
new thoroughfares laid out, and old ones widened. The 
broadening of the Strand is approaching completion, 



160 



WEST LONDON 



and the wide thoroughfare known as Aldwych and 
Kingsway has taken the place of an old and congested 
neighbourhood. Where the great Northumberland House 
stood, there is now an avenue of huge hotels and clubs. 
The new Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue 
have opened up districts that were insanitary and over- 
populated, while old-fashioned houses and offices in 




Holland House 



Parliament Street have given place to magnificent piles 
of Government buildings. The Victoria Embankment, 
the work of the latter part of the nineteenth century, is 
the finest thoroughfare in the world, and has palatial 
hotels, clubs, and other buildings of an ornate character 
overlooking the Thames. 

It will thus be seen that West London is largely a 
new London, and every year there is swept away some 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 161 

relic of the past. There is, however, a picturesque 
collection of old wooden gabled houses in Holborn that 
have been saved from destruction. They are known as 
Staple Inn, and give one a good idea of what the old 
streets of London must have been like in Tudor times. 

The stateliest piece of Jacobean architecture within 
the County of London is Holland House, which stands 
amid large and beautiful grounds in Kensington. It is a 
picturesque red brick and stone building, in Renaissance 
style, and was built in 1607 by John Thorpe, a celebrated 
architect of that period. The stone gateway close to the 
house on the east was designed by Inigo Jones and carved 
by Nicholas Stone, master mason to James I. Not only 
is Holland House of note from an architectural point of 
view, but it has most interesting literary associations. 
Addison, Fox and Macaulay were frequent visitors at 
this great and famous house, which was the resort of 
wits and beauties, of painters and poets, of philosophers, 
dandies and statesmen. 

The town houses of the aristocracy are in such neigh- 
bourhoods as Mayfair, Belgravia, and Park Lane, and the 
houses of our great nobles — Devonshire House, Stafford 
House, Grosvenor House, Lansdowne House, and Bridge- 
water House — are all of the Georgian, or even later 
period. From an architectural point of view they are not 
striking, and impressive only from their good proportions 
and appearance of solidity. Internally, however, many are 
magnificent, with fine marble staircases, beautiful decora- 
tions, and priceless works of art. 

Chelsea is one of the districts that has been almost 

b. w. l. 11 



162 



WEST LONDON 



entirely rebuilt in recent years, and here we find a rever- 
sion to red brick and the old English style of architecture, 
[n some boroughs, such as Hampstead, there are left 




Joseph Addison 

houses of a really good type. They are comely, and in 
many cases delightfully quaint and irregular, and may be 
seen to great advantage in Church Row, which, with its 



ARCHITECTURE— DOMESTIC 163 

pleasant old houses of red brick and its limes flourishing 
in the roadway, has an old-world touch in strange con- 
trast to the modern flats close by. Indeed one does not 
need to go far in London to realise not only the change 
of style in building, but also the change of material. 
Brick, and stone, and timber, are giving place to re- 
inforced concrete and steel girders. Everything seems of 
a stern prosaic character, and the chisel of the mason 
and tool of the carver are no longer required. Modern 
London has no definite style of architecture. In recent 
years we have seen the French influence at work, to be 
succeeded by the Italian, which in turn is followed by 
some variety of Gothic. It is all a borrowing from the 
past or from other lands, and London has yet to form 
its own style. 



20. Communications — Ancient and 
Modern. The Thames formerly 
the Normal Highway of London. 
The Thames Watermen. 

For many centuries the chief highway of London 
was the Thames, which played a most important part 
in the life and history of the City. London has now 
developed to such an extent that the number of people 
who use the Thames either for business or pleasure is 
really very small. It is of the utmost importance, how- 
ever, that we should realise that the Thames made 
London, for it was the most important, if not the only 

ir — 2 



164 WEST LONDON 

highway by which merchandise in large quantities was 
brought into the City from the provinces or from abroad. 

The Thames then is the most natural starting-point 
when one considers the communications of London. A 
glance at a map of Roman London brings out clearly 
one important point. A great many of the ancient roads, 
both those of pre-Roman as well as of Roman days, seem 
to converge towards a single point on the northern bank 
of the Thames. Some of these roads, after traversing 
England for hundreds of miles in almost a straight line, 
are turned aside in order to reach that point. Now a little 
reflection will show the reason for this diversion of route. 
It was that the road might be carried over the ferry or 
bridge where the Thames was the narrowest, and the 
present London Bridge is nearly on the site of the first 
ferry or bridge. 

London owed its early prosperity to the building of 
the bridge, which is the first ascertained fact in the 
history of Roman London. We have already referred 
to the making of London Bridge in other chapters, so that 
it is not necessary to urge its importance all through 
our history. We are now in a position to consider, 
briefly, the roads through Roman London. The road 
from the south crossed the bridge to Eastcheap, where it 
divided into two branches, one of which ran northward to 
Bishopsgate, and the other north-westward to Newgate. 
The northward street at Bishopsgate again divided, the 
westward road ran to Lincoln and York, while the east- 
ward branch crossed the Lea at Old Ford and became 
the main road through Essex. The north-westward road 



166 WEST LONDON 

passed from the City at Newgate, and throughout its 
entire length from Kent to its termination in Wales was 
known as Watling Street. One of the small streets in 
London, probably in the course of the original, still bears 
that name. 

Besides the Thames, the Bridge, and the two or three 
main Roman roads, there was the Walbrook, a stream 
of some importance then, but now only a matter of 
history. Its name is given to Walbrook, a thoroughfare 
by the Mansion House, and when excavations are made, 
traces of its former channel are often found. 

Now let us return for a short time to the Thames, 
which was for so long the normal highway of London. 
When the roads were few and bad, and when railways 
were unknown, it was considered safer and better to 
move from place to place by means of boats or barges. 
Londoners thus ran no risk of being stopped by footpads 
or highwaymen, and the "silent highway" of London 
was then used as much for pleasure as for business. It 
was not till the later part of the nineteenth century that 
the Thames was embanked, and with a little thought we 
are able to realise that it was once broader than it is 
to-day. At high tide the water came up to the busy 
street we now call the Strand, which was then the strand 
or shore of the river. When the river was not em- 
banked, it was not easy to get into a boat when the tide 
was low, and thus in several places " stairs " were built 
which allowed persons to land or embark at all elates 
of the tide. The popular old English song, "Warping 
Old Stairs," reminds us of this fact. Water-gate:, too, 



COMMUNICATIONS 167 

were erected, and these allowed the boats to come in at 
any time ; and from the little wharves which they 
enclosed the owners of the gate could embark at any 
time in their own barges. A good example of these 
water-gates, as we have seen, still exists at the bottom of 
Buckingham Street, Strand. 

As the river was so much used by all classes, it is 
evident that the number of boats must have been very 
large. Many of the citizens had their own boats, and 
stately barges were kept by the Lord Mayor, the City 
Companies, and the great nobles who then resided in their 
town houses along the Thames. We can form some idea 
of the traffic on the river in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
for Taylor, the Water Poet, tells us that in his time "the 
number of watermen and those that lived and were 
maintained by them, betwixt the bridge of Windsor and 
Gravesend, could not be fewer than 40,000." Later we 
find that the watermen were made into a Company, and 
that they could furnish 20,000 men for the fleet. The 
watermen had the sole right to carry passengers for hire 
upon the Thames, and were very zealous in protecting 
their rights. In 1850, a writer laments that u the intro- 
duction of steamboats has changed the whole character of 
the Company, and for every fifty watermen in the reign 
of Elizabeth, there is not more than one now." We may 
go further and remark that few steamboats now ply on 
the Thames, and passenger traffic has almost ceased. 

The Thames is of the greatest interest in our history, 
and whole chapters might be written of the processions, 
happy and unhappy, that have passed along its stream. 



168 



WEST LONDON 



How many state prisoners have passed from their trials at 
Westminster to their doom at the Tower ! Some of our 
greatest men have stopped in their boat outside the 
Tower, and, entering its gloomy portals by way of the 
Traitors' Gate, have gone to their cells, only to be be- 
headed after a short time on Tower Hill. We have 
seen in Chapter 6 how the Thames carried the Seven 




The Seven Bishops on their way to the Tower 

Bishops to the Tower, and how it became the repository 
for a time of the Great Seal of England, which James II 
in his flight threw into the water. 

When Queen Elizabeth died at Richmond, her body 
was carried with great pomp by water to Whitehall, and 
a contemporary poet thus writes : — 

" The Queen was brought by water to Whitehall ; 
At every stroke the oars did tears let fall " : 



COMMUNICATIONS 169 

Cowley, the poet, died at Chertsey and his body was borne 
by water to Whitehall, and Pope thus commemorates 
this event : — 

" Oh, early lost ! what tears the river shed 
When the sad pomp along- his banks were led." 

Nor must we forget that a greater than Cowley was 
brought in state by water from Greenwich, for thus was 
Nelson carried to his last resting-place in 1805. 

We must close our historical references to the Thames 
by a brief glance at Pepys. We cannot read much of 
the Diary without coming across such a phrase as, " By 
water to Woolwich," or " By water to Whitehall." The 
Thames plays a most important part in the London of 
Pepys, and right well did the diarist know how to amuse 
himself by using the river in going from one place of enter- 
tainment to another. Here are a few extracts from his 
Diary on August 23, 1662: "I walked all along Thames- 
street but could not get a boat ; I offered eight shillings 
for a boat to attend me this afternoon, and they would 
not, it being the day of the Queene's coming to town 
from Hampton Court. So we fairly walked it to White- 
hall, . . . and up to the top of the new Banqueting House 
there, over the Thames, which was a most pleasant place 
as any I could have got ; and all the show consisted 
chiefly in the number of boats and barges ; and two 
pageants, one of a King, and another of a Queene. . . . 
Anon come the King and Queene in a barge under 
a canopy with 1000 barges and boats I know, for we 
could see no water for them, nor discern the King nor 



170 



WEST LONDON 



Queene. And so they landed at White Hall Bridge, and 
the great guns on the other side went off." 

But now it is time to leave the Thames with its 
merry-making, its pathos, and its tragedies, and pass to 
the more prosaic study of the present-day communications 




St Pancras Station 
(With King's Cross Station in the distance) 



of London. The streets in the County of London are 
maintained for the most part by the metropolitan borough 
councils and the City Corporation. The London County 
Council maintains the roadway of the County bridges, of 



COMMUNICATIONS 171 

the Thames tunnels, and the Victoria Embankment. In 
the whole of the County of London there are 2135 miles 
of public roads and streets, and these are kept in a very 
high state of repair, while their cleanliness and good 
lighting are generally recognised. 

With regard to railway communications we find that 
no fewer than ten trunk lines have their termini in 
London, while the local lines, which are now generally 
electrified, are numerous. The first Electric Railway in 
London was that from the Bank to Stockwell, which was 
opened in 1890, and the first of the "Tube" Railways 
was the Central London from the Bank to Shepherd's 
Bush. The most frequented underground line is the 
Inner Circle, which is very convenient for travelling east 
to west, from Aldgate to Kensington. The best way to 
study the railways of London is to get a good railway 
map of the metropolis and trace the various lines. The 
total length of all the lines in London is about 250 miles. 
There are 329 stations in the County, and about 7800 
trains enter and leave London every day. 

Tramways have not yet been allowed to penetrate 
into the heart of London, but they are largely used on 
the northern and southern portions. Most of the tram- 
way lines belong to the London County Council, and 
with few exceptions they are electrified. The chief 
starting-points of the trams for South London are from 
the Embankment; for North London, from Moorgate 
Street and the bottom of Gray's Inn Road; for East 
London, from Bloomsbury and Aldgate ; and for West 
London, from Hammersmith and Harrow Road. There 



172 



WEST LONDON 



are about 124 miles of tramways in London, and with 
the exception of a low-level underground tramway from 
Theobald's Road to Aldwych, they are all above the 
surface. 

The traffic of London is at present in a state of tran- 
sition owing to the advent of motor omnibuses. These 




Blackfriars Bridge 
{Showing tramway) 

have almost superseded the horse-drawn vehicles, and 
although they were not introduced till 1899, t ^ey are 
nearly 2000 in number. The omnibus has long played 
a most important part in London locomotion, and from 
the top of a 'bus one gets some insight into the life of 
the City. 



COMMUNICATIONS 173 

We now come to the last means of locomotion in 
London. The London cabs have taken the place of the 
old Hackney coaches, and are now of three kinds — the 
four-wheeler, the two-wheeler, or " hansom," and the 
motor " taxi-cab." The latter class is rapidly increasing, 
while the hansom will soon be a thing of the past. 

No city in the world is so well provided with the 
means of locomotion as London, and its history allows us 
to compare the state of affairs at various periods. London 
was famed for its coaching-houses till the advent of railways, 
and the coaches that ran from London to all parts of Eng- 
land were noted for their speed. In the reign of Charles II 
the fast coaches were called " Flying Machines," and 
here is a contemporary advertisement concerning them : 
" All those desirous to pass from London to Bath, or any 
other Place on their Road, let them repair to the Bell 
Savage on Ludgate Hill in London, where they may be 
received in a Stage Coach which performs the whole 
journey in Three Days (if God permit) and sets forth at 
five in the Morning. Passengers to pay One Pound five 
shillings each, who are allowed to carry fourteen Pounds 
Weight — for all above to pay three half-pence per Pound." 

Things are different now and we can leave London 
and reach Bath in less than two hours. The journey of 
107 miles only costs 85. n*/., and we have no need to 
dread attacks on the highway by robbers or footpads. 



174 WEST LONDON 

21. Administration and Divisions — 
The City of Westminster. The 
London County Council. The Port 
Authority. Trinity House. 

London is the youngest of all our counties, and had 
no central representative government till 1889, when the 
first London County Council was constituted. From 
1855 to 1888 the Metropolitan Board of Works was the 
chief authority, but as it was not a popular body its work 
was not altogether satisfactory. In this chapter we have 
to consider the constitution and work of the London 
County Council, which is the chief authority for the 
Administrative County of London. The constitution and 
work of the Corporation of the City of London, which has 
jurisdiction over a very small but most important area, are 
considered in the volume on East London. 

The London County Council consists of 118 elected 
representatives and 19 aldermen, and the election takes 
place in March, every three years. The aldermen are 
elected by the Council for six years, so that nine retire 
at the end of one period and 10 at the next period. 
The first Chairman of the London County Council was 
Lord Rosebery, and other men of eminence have since 
been elected to this high position. 

The work of the London County Council is of a 
most important character. One of the most interesting 
features of the Council is the care and development of 
the parks and open spaces, and of them some account is 










B 



176 WEST LONDON 

given in another chapter. The Council maintains the 
London Fire Brigade, which is one of the most efficient 
in the world ; and it has important duties in connection 
with the health of the people, for it controls slaughter- 
houses, dairies, cow-sheds, and lodging-houses. It is 
constantly making improvements, by clearing insanitary 
areas, and by widening streets. It manages the lunatic 
asylums of London, and has a staff of officers to supervise 
weights and measures. It is the chief authority for 
education, and superseded the London School Board in 
1903. Among the various other duties of the London 
County Council may be mentioned those relating to the 
management of the tramways, the housing of the working 
classes, and the preservation of historic buildings. 

Besides the two chief governing bodies of London, 
the Administrative County has 28 Borough Councils, 
which by the Act of 1899 superseded the vestries and 
district boards. The council of each borough consists of 
a Mayor, and not more than 10 aldermen and 60 coun- 
cillors. The powers and duties of these borough councils 
are not so important as those of the London County 
Council; but they are concerned with the maintenance 
of roads and their cleansing and lighting, with public 
libraries, baths, and wash-houses, and with other useful 
work within their area. 

The County of London has 31 Boards of Guardians, 
four Boards of Managers of School Districts, and two 
Boards of Managers of Sick Asylum Districts. These 
various bodies are mainly concerned with Poor-law ad- 
ministration, that is, with the management of workhouses, 



ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS 177 

and with the work of looking after the poor, sick, and 
aged. 

For the administration of justice, London has a Court 
of Quarter Sessions, and 15 Courts of Petty Sessions. 
There are also 14 Police Courts with Magistrates, and 
14 County Courts. The Central Criminal Court has 
jurisdiction not only over all London and Middlesex, but 
also over parts of Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Hertford. 
There are prisons at Brixton, Holloway, Pentonville, 
Wandsworth, and Wormwood Scrubs, and the police 
force in London numbers about 18,000 men. 

The County of London is in the dioceses of London, 
Southwark, St Albans, and Canterbury. The Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury has his official residence at Lambeth 
Palace, and the Bishop of London has Fulham Palace, 
and London House, St James's Square. Formerly the 
ecclesiastical parish coincided with the civil parish, but 
now, while there are 69 civil parishes, there are 610 
ecclesiastical parishes in London. 

For parliamentary purposes London is divided into 
58 constituencies, with one member for each, except in 
the case of the City, which returns two members. 

The Metropolitan Water Board was formed in 1902, 
and has control of the water-supply, but its jurisdiction 
extends far beyond the County of London. The Port of 
London Authority was established in 1908, for the pur- 
pose of administering, preserving, and improving the Port 
of London, and superseded to a large extent the Thames 
Conservancy Board, which is now concerned mainly with 
the upper part of the Thames. 

b. w. l. 12 



178 WEST LONDON 

London is not only first among British seaports but is 
the greatest seaport in the world. For some years past, 
however, there has been a feeling that London as a port 
has not been making the same rate of progress as such 
continental ports as Hamburg, Antwerp, Bremen, Rotter- 
dam, and Havre. In 1908 a Bill was passed "to provide 
for the improvement and better administration of the 
Port of London and for purposes incidental thereto." As 
a result a Port Authority has been established, which 
consists of 18 elected and 12 appointed members. This 
body has taken over the docks and has power to construct, 
maintain, and manage any docks, quays, wharves, jetties, 
and piers that may be necessary. The Port Authority has 
now jurisdiction over the Port of London, which extends 
from Teddington Lock to an imaginary straight line 
drawn from Havengore Creek in Essex to the Land's 
End at Warden Point in Sheppey, Kent. 

Besides the new Port Authority, there are two other 
bodies which have jurisdiction in particular cases over the 
same area. The City Corporation is the Port Sanitary 
Authority from Teddington Lock seawards ; and Trinity 
House has charge of the pilotage, lighting, and buoying 
of the river from London Bridge seawards. There are 
about 350 licensed pilots in London and the fees received 
for pilotage amount to nearly £150,000 per annum. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— PARLIAMENTARY 179 

22. Public Buildings — (a) Parlia= 
mentary and Legal. The Houses 
of Parliament, Royal Courts of 
Justice, Inns of Court. 

The Houses of Parliament are on the left bank of 
the Thames between the river and the Abbey. They 




.,• 



The Houses of Parliament 

form one of the most magnificent buildings ever erected 
in Europe, and the largest Gothic edifice in the world. 
The buildings occupy the site of the old Royal Palace at 
Westminster, which was burnt down on October 16, 
1834. They cover an area of nearly eight acres, and 
their cost has exceeded ^3,000,000. The architect was 

12 — 2 



180 WEST LONDON 

Sir Charles Barry, and the first stone was laid on 
April 27, 1840. The building, however, was not com- 
pleted till i860, although the first session of Parliament 
in the new Palace was in 1852. 

Although Barry liked the Classic rather than the 
Gothic, he chose the Perpendicular as the most suitable 
for this purpose, and he wisely decided to incorporate 
Westminster Hall, which was a remnant of the old Palace, 
into the new buildings. In some of the details of the 
exterior work we are reminded of the beautiful Town 
Halls of Brussels and Ghent. The stone employed 
for the external masonry is a magnesian limestone, while 
the river terrace is of Aberdeen granite. There is very 
little wood about the building, all the main beams and 
joists being of iron. The river front may be considered 
the principal. This magnificent facade, 900 feet long, is 
divided into five compartments, panelled with tracery, 
and decorated with rows of statues and coats of arms of 
English monarchs from the Conquest to the present 
time. 

The chief features of the building are the three towers 
which break the skyline of the Palace. The greatest of 
these is the Victoria Tower, said to be the loftiest in the 
world, rising as it does to a height of nearly 340 feet. 
This tower contains the Royal Entrance, of which the 
roof is a rich and beautifully-worked groined stone vault, 
while the interior is decorated with the statues of patron 
saints of England, Scotland, and Ireland. From the 
flagstaff on this tower the Union Jack is hoisted when- 
ever Parliament is actually sitting. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— PARLIAMENTARY 181 

The Clock Tower is a few feet lower than the 
Victoria Tower, but in the eyes of Londoners it probably 
takes first rank. It contains " Big Ben," which weighs 
about 14 tons, and the Palace Clock which strikes the 
hours and chimes the quarters upon eight bells, while 
it shows the time upon four dials each having a diameter 
of 30 feet. The Clock Tower has been used as a^kind 




House of Lords 



of prison, for within one of its chambers, members who 
have incurred the displeasure of Parliament have been 
confined. From the summit of the Clock Tower the 
light of a powerful lantern during the dark hours notifies 
that Parliament is sitting. 

The Central Tower, the third of the group, is grace- 
ful, and although it formed no part of the original design, 



182 



WEST LONDON 



it was subsequently added by Barry in order to carry out 
a scheme of ventilation. 

Having glanced at the exterior of the Houses of 
Parliament, we may enter this fine building either 
through Westminster Hall or Old Palace Yard, each of 
which leads into the Central Octagon Hall, from which 
the right-hand passage leads to the House of Lords, and 
the left to the Commons. 




The Mace and Purse, House of Lords 



The House of Peers, the " Gilded Chamber," is a 
noble room of unusual magnificence. No expense was 
spared to make it one of the richest chambers in the world. 
The spectator, however, is hardly aware of the lavish 
richness of its fittings from the masterly way in which all 
are harmoniously blended. The architect intended to 
make it grand, for it was not only to be the meeting 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— PARLIAMENTARY 183 

place of the Peers, but the Audience Chamber of the 
Sovereign. At the south end are the thrones for the 
King and the Queen, and two state chairs for the Prince 
and Princess of Wales. In front of the Throne is the 
Woolsack, on which the Lord Chancellor sits. The walls 
have some fine historical frescoes ; the twelve windows 
are gorgeous with portraits of our monarchs, and the 




House of Commons 

niches between them have statues of the 18 barons of 
Mas;na Carta fame. 

The House of Commons is not so ornate or dazzling 
as the House of Peers, but it has fine oak panelling and 
stained glass windows. At the north end is the chair for 
the Speaker, who controls the debates when the House is 
not in Committee. There are galleries for visitors, for 



184 WEST LONDON 

the public, and for the reporters, but the floor of the 
House has not accommodation for the whole of the 670 
members. When there is a full House, many of the 
members overflow into the galleries. In front of the 
Speaker's Chair is a table for the clerks, and at the south 
end of this table, when the Speaker is in the Chair, rests 
the Mace, the symbol of the Speaker's authority. The 
division lobbies are on the east and west of the 
Chamber, and into these members pass when a division 
is taken and record their votes — the Ayes going to the 
Speaker's right and the Noes to the left. 

The Central or Octagon Hall is midway between 
the House of Commons and the House of Peers. It is 
a grand apartment, with a stately vaulted stone roof 
containing more than 250 carved bosses, and it contains 
statues of great Parliamentarians of recent years. Leading 
from the Central Hall to Westminster Hall is St Stephen's 
Hall, where are statues of " men who rose to eminence 
by the eloquence and abilities they displayed in the House 
of Commons." It derives its name from occupying the 
same space as St Stephen's Chapel of the ancient Palace, 
which was the old House of Commons. Beneath 
St Stephen's Hall is the old crypt of St Stephen's 
Chapel, and this has been recently restored as a place of 
worship for the residents of the Houses of Parliament. 

The Houses of Parliament with their eleven courts, 
one hundred staircases, and eleven thousand rooms have 
been criticised rather severely. Mr Ruskin quoted this 
building as a superb instance of the want of imagination 
shown by English architects in raising a building entirely 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— LEGAL 185 

decorated by "straight lines." On the other hand, the 
majority of English people look upon the new Palace at 
Westminster as one of the most pleasing buildings in 
London, and the French critic, M. Taine, supports this 
popular view. He says : — " The architecture has the 
merit of being neither Grecian nor Southern ; it is 
Gothic, accommodated to the climate, to the require- 
ments of the eye. The palace magnificently mirrors 
itself in the shining river ; in the distance its clock 
tower, its legions of turrets and of carvings are vaguely 
outlined in the mist. Its soaring and twisting lines, com- 
plicated mouldings, trefoils, and rose windows diversify the 
enormous mass, which covers four acres, and produces on 
the mind the idea of a tangled forest." 

The Royal Courts of Justice, more commonly known 
as the Law Courts, are a vast and magnificent pile of 
buildings in the Gothic style, on the north side of the 
Strand, just beyond Temple Bar. Some idea of the 
extent of them may be gained when we know that there 
are no less than 19 Courts, and about 11 00 apartments 
of all kinds. At the present time the accommodation is 
insufficient, and an enlargement of these fine buildings is 
taking place. 

The architect of the Law Courts was George Edmund 
Street. He did not live to see the completion of his 
work, but died, worn out by his strenuous labours, 
in 1 881, and the completion of the building was accom- 
plished by his son, Mr Arthur Edmund Street, and 
Sir Arthur Blomfield. The building operations actually 
began in 1874, and it was not till December 4, 1882, 



186 



WEST LONDON 



that Queen Victoria, with great ceremony, formally 
opened the Royal Courts of Justice. 

It is generally admitted that the Law Courts are 
Street's greatest achievement, but the splendid front 
to the Strand of 500 feet suffers from its proximity to 
the crowded thoroughfare. A competent authority says 




The Law Courts 



that this front " has no lack of effectiveness, and its 
towers and turrets, its arcades, its oriels and gables, its 
polished pillars and pilasters, lend to it a variety not 
inconsistent with unity." The chief feature of the 
structure is the Great Hall, a noble specimen of Early 
English Architecture, with a finely groined stone roof, 
a mosaic floor, and a deeply recessed and elaborately 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— LEGAL 187 

decorated entrance, above which is a lofty gable contain- 
ing a rose window of rare beauty. 

It is of historical interest to remember that the Courts 
of Law were formerly held at Westminster Hall and 
Lincoln's Inn. Thus we find as early as the reign of 
Edward I that the Courts of King's Bench, Common 
Bench, and Exchequer were all sitting in Westminster 
Hall, and from the reign of Edward II the Court of 
Chancery was held in Lincoln's Inn. If we go back to 
the time of the Norman kings, we find that the 
Exchequer and the " Curia Regis," two of the royal 
courts, followed the king from place to place, and it 
was not till the time of Magna Carta that it was decided 
that the Court of Common Pleas should be fixed at 
Westminster. 

Westminster Hall, the old Hall of the Palace of our 
kings at Westminster, was incorporated into the present 
Houses of Parliament. It was originally built by William 
Rufus, but the present Hall was repaired, so as to be 
almost a new structure, in the closing years of Richard II. 
The roof is of oak, and the first of its kind in the country. 
Some of our early Parliaments were held in this Hall, and 
it is curious that the first meeting of Parliament in the 
new building was to depose the very king by whom it 
had been rebuilt. The Law Courts of England were 
permanently established in Westminster Hall in 1224, 
and from that date onwards to the opening of the new 
Law Courts in the Strand, they were held either in that 
Hall or in certain courts adjoining it. This venerable 
Hall has been the scene of many great trials. Here 



188 



WEST LONDON 



Wallace was tried and condemned, and here, too, Sir 
Thomas More was doomed to the scaffold. Here the 
great Earl of Strafford went through his trial, and here, 
also, his king, Charles I, was arraigned before the High 
Court of Justice. Here it was that the Seven Bishops 
were acquitted, and here Warren Hastings was tried and 
also acquitted, notwithstanding the impassioned eloquence 




Westminster Hall 



of Burke and Sheridan. Westminster Hall is, indeed, 
the most historic of all our buildings connected with the 
administration of justice. 

We may now pass to a brief review of the Inns of 
Court which have been styled " the noblest nurseries of 
Humanity and Liberty in the Kingdom." They are four 
in number — Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— LEGAL 189 

and Gray's Inn — and they are situated in the neighbour- 
hood of Fleet Street, Chancery Lane, and Holborn. These 
ancient buildings, with their courtyards and grass-plots, 
give a charm to the heart of London and remind us of the 



• ■■• •■■■■»* 




Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford 

colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. They were named 
Inns from the ancient custom of masters receiving law 
apprentices to board and reside with them ; and they 
were called Inns of Court from being formerly held in 
the "Aula Regia," or Court of the King's Palace. 



190 



WEST LONDON 



Lawyers are still the principal dwellers in these Inns of 
Court, and lectures and examinations take place in them. 
Their government is vested in " Benchers " consisting of 
the most successful and distinguished members of the 
English Bar, and " keeping commons " by dining in Hall 









'n3«e3|H 


LLj 


* u 


-— SSSSSSE 52 ^' dflHHHi 


wKmmm iihx 





Lincoln's Inn Gateway 



is still an indispensable qualification for being called to the 
Bar. 

In the volume on East London reference is made 
to the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple, so that 
we need only consider Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn 
in this chapter. Lincoln's Inn is one of the most im- 
portant Inns of Court and is called after Henry de Lacy, 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— LEGAL 191 

Earl of Lincoln, whose town house occupied a portion of 
this site. The Gateway of brick in Chancery Lane is 
the oldest part of the present building, and bears on it 
the date of 1 518. It is said by Fuller that Ben Jonson, 
a poor bricklayer, was found working on this structure 
with a trowel in his hand and a Horace in his pocket. 
Lincoln's Inn Chapel, in the Perpendicular style, was 
built by Inigo Jones in 1623. There is some good 
stained glass in the windows, while the crypt beneath 
the chapel, on open arches, was built as a place for the 
students and lawyers a to walk in and talk and confer 
their learnings." Lincoln's Inn Hall is a noble structure 
in the Tudor style. It is of red brick with stone dressings, 
and has a fine roof of carved oak. The Library is the 
oldest in London, and has a priceless collection of 
manuscripts and books. Among the distinguished mem- 
bers of Lincoln's Inn may be mentioned Sir Thomas 
More, Shaftesbury, Oliver Cromwell, and William Pitt. 
Gray's Inn, the most northerly of the Inns of Court, 
is called after Lord Grey de Wilton, of the time of 
Henry VII. There is a great charm in Gray's Inn with 
its quiet old garden and its fine spreading trees. The Hall 
was built in 1560, and the gardens were first laid out about 
1600. Bacon, who dates the dedication of his Essays "from 
my chamber at Graies Inn," and Lord Burghley, are two 
of the great worthies of the Inn. Bradshaw, who pre- 
sided at the trial of Charles I, was a bencher of this Inn. 
Gray's Inn Gardens, in the days of the later Stuarts, were 
a fashionable promenade on a summer evening. Here it 
was that Pepys the diarist and his wife used to walk on 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— LEGAL 193 

Sundays " to observe the fashions of the ladies." Bacon 
is said to have planted some of the trees, but probably 
none now remain coeval with his time. 

Besides the four Inns of Court there were formerly 
nine Inns of Chancery attached to them ; but of these 
some have entirely disappeared, and of others only vestiges 
are left. Clement's Inn has gone, and the special feature 
of its garden, a sundial upheld by the kneeling figure of 
a blackamoor, is now in the Temple Gardens. Barnard's 
Inn has been converted into a school by the Mercers' 
Company. Staple Inn is familiar from the timbered, 
gabled front it presents to Holborn. Furnival's, Thavies', 
and the other Inns famous in olden days are no more, and 
their quiet little gardens have shared their fate. 



23. Public Buildings — (b) Government 
and Administrative Offices in 
Whitehall and Parliament Street. 
Somerset House. Spring Gardens. 

Whitehall, with its continuation Parliament Street, 
was once a street of palaces ; now it is almost entirely 
given over to palatial Government Offices. By their 
erection this part of London has been much improved, 
and in the opinion of competent judges, this thoroughfare 
from Charing Cross to Westminster is the finest in 
London. 

As the most important of the Government offices are 
on the west side of Whitehall, we may well begin with 

b. w. l. 13 



194 



WEST LONDON 



the Admiralty, which is the most northerly. This build- 
ing dates from the early eighteenth century, but owing 
to the rapid expansion of the navy in the later part of 
the nineteenth century new buildings became necessary. 
These were completed in 1905, and form a quadrangle 
behind the old building, one of the blocks overlooking the 
Horse Guards Parade. The old Admiralty's most famous 



lit 




The Horse Guards 



association is with Nelson, for here the body of the great 
sailor lay in state during the night of January 8, 1806. 
The new Admiralty buildings have wireless telegraphy 
apparatus installed on the towers, and by this means com- 
munication is ensured with ships within a radius of 1600 
miles. 

The Horse Guards is the next building and dates 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— GOVERNMENT 195 

from 1753. The Commander-in-Chief had his offices 
here, before the post was abolished. The passage under 
the clock tower leads to the Horse Guards Parade, where 
the picturesque ceremony of the Trooping of the Colours 
takes place on the King's birthday. 

Beyond Dover House, which has the offices of the 
Secretary for Scotland, is a large block of Government 
offices containing the Treasury and the Privy Council 
Office. It is of interest to note that the Treasury has 
been situated in this locality since the time of Charles II, 
and that the present building was erected by Barry in 
1846. 

Further to the south, where Whitehall merges into 
Parliament Street, is Downing Street, named after Sir 
George Downing, soldier and politician, of the time of 
Charles II. "Downing Street" is now synonymous 
with the seat of government in the British Empire, and 
"No. 10" has exceptional interest as the temporary 
residence of successive Prime Ministers. Walpole was 
the first Premier to occupy it, and here, among others, 
have resided William Pitt, Gladstone, and Beaconsfield. 
The official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
is next door, and this house was for many years the home 
of Gladstone. 

South of Downing Street is another great block of 
buildings comprising the Home Office, the Foreign 
Office, the Colonial Office, and the India Office. These 
are ranged around a quadrangle and were designed by 
Scott in the Italian style. The Foreign Office is the 
most splendid part of this block, and its grand staircase is 

13—2 



196 



WEST LONDON 



the chief feature of this building. There is a magnificent 
conference room, and sometimes Cabinet Councils are 
held in the Foreign Office. 

The lower part of Parliament Street on the west was 
demolished in 1 899 to make way for new Government 
offices, which are occupied by the Local Government 





illiiMHIPIJiLlllJJlHlllilHH 



The Foreign Office 

Board and the Board of Education. These buildings 
form the finest that have been erected in recent years, 
and are in the style of the Italian Renaissance. A further 
extension is now in progress, and the new buildings will 
be assigned to the Board of Trade. 

We will now pursue our course and note the Govern- 
ment buildings on the east side of Parliament Street and 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— GOVERNMENT 197 

Whitehall. The first of importance are the offices of 
New Scotland Yard, which have been the headquarters 
of the Metropolitan Police since 1891. Passing the 
Banqueting Hall, which is noticed elsewhere, we reach 
the new War Office, a vast block of buildings completed 
in 1906. It is built of Portland stone, in the Renaissance 



i iSY't 



-In w * ■ f r ' rr . 



The War Office 

style, with domed towers at each corner. In front of the 
War Office is an excellent equestrian statue of the Duke 
of Cambridge, who was Commander-in-Chief of the 
British Army from 1856 to 1895. Beyond the War 
Office, in Whitehall, is the newest of the Government 
offices, which is used by the Department of Woods and 



198 



WEST LONDON 



Forests. We are now near Trafalgar Square, and looking 
down the street we have a fine view of the Government 
offices on either side, and the grey mass of Westminster 
Abbey in the distance. 

Leaving the Government offices in Whitehall and 
Parliament Street, we may pass to Somerset House, which 
is entered from the Strand. The building is in the form 




Trafalgar Square looking N.W. 



of a quadrangle, and the river terrace, 800 feet long, built 
after the Venetian style, is its chief feature. The present 
Somerset House was erected in 1776 on the site of a 
palace of the Protector Somerset, built in 1549. The 
eastern wing of Somerset House is now King's College ; 
while the other portions are the offices of the Inland 
Revenue, the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— GOVERNMENT 199 

Marriages, and the Will Office. All the wills of the 
kingdom are kept here, and the wills of many noted men 
may be seen, notably those of Shakespeare, Newton, and 
Dr Johnson. The registers of wills go back to the 
fourteenth century and visitors are allowed to examine 
them under certain regulations. 

The present headquarters of the London County 




Somerset House 

Council are known as Spring Gardens, or more properly 
Spring Garden. This is situated between Charing Cross 
and the Mall, and is named after some springs in the 
neighbourhood. The London County Council took over 
these offices from the Metropolitan Board of Works, and 
enlarged them for their new purposes. The accom- 
modation, however, is quite inadequate for the greatest 



200 WEST LONDON 

municipal authority in the world, and a new and palatial 
County Hall (vide p. 175) is being erected at a cost of 
nearly £2,000,000 on the Lambeth side of the Thames. 



24. Public Buildings — (c) Museums and 
Exhibitions. British Museum, 
Natural History Museum, Vic= 
toria and Albert Museum, India 
Museum, Imperial Institute. 

The British Museum in Great Russell Street, Blooms- 
bury, and the Natural History Museum at South Kensing- 
ton, are both under the same management. It is well to 
remember that, before 1883, the nucleus of the fine 
collections now at South Kensington was formed at the 
British Museum, and these were then removed to give 
more space for the other exhibits that had accumulated. 

We will begin with the British Museum, which 
Ruskin said is "the best ordered and pleasantest institution 
in all London, and the grandest concentration of the 
means of human knowledge in the world." It will be 
gathered from this summary how impossible it is in our 
space to do little more than give a short sketch of the 
origin and growth of the museum, and to indicate some 
of its principal departments and their contents. 

The present building is on the site of Montague 
House, which was acquired in 1759 to house various 
collections which had been left to the nation. This old 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— MUSEUMS 201 

house proving quite insufficient for its purpose, the main 
portion of the museum, designed by Sir Robert Smirke, 
R.A., was completed in 1845. The great reading- 
room with its vast dome was added in 1857, an ^ large 
additions have recently been made to the building, King 
Edward VII having laid the memorial stone of a new 
wing on the north side. The British Museum is of Ionic 




The British Museum 



architecture, and is considered one of the most successful 
imitations of the Greek in our country. It is faced with a 
portico, whose columns extend round- the wings of the 
building ; and the sculpture in the pediment is by Sir 
Richard Westmacott. The dome of the reading room is 
slightly larger than that of St Peter's at Rome, and much 
larger than that of our own St Paul's, but as it is less 



202 WEST LONDON 

lofty than either of those structures, and is so hemmed 
in by other buildings, it is almost impossible to get a good 
view of it from the outside. 

On entering the museum we notice in the hall some 
pieces of modern and classical sculpture, besides Greek 
and Latin inscriptions. We pass on to the large reading 
room, which contains on its shelves 80,000 books, and has 
seating accommodation for hundreds of readers, who are 
pursuing researches into all kinds of literature. The 
British Museum library consists of more than 2,000,000 
volumes, and this number is being annually increased, as 
a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom 
must be sent to the museum. Students and readers have 
practically the right of access to all these books, which 
occupy over 40 miles of shelves. This library, which is 
the second largest in the world, has books which are not 
only rare but unique, and the specimens of beautiful book- 
bindings are very fine and numerous. The manuscript 
department has priceless treasures in many languages which 
illustrate the progress in writing from the second century 
before Christ to the fifteenth century. There is a portion 
of the papyrus containing Aristotle's lost treatise "On the 
Constitution of Athens," and there is the Magna Carta 
of King John. Among other rarities may be mentioned 
the earliest Greek text of the Scriptures on vellum, the 
Latin Bible of St Jerome, and the English Bible of 
Wyclif and his disciples. The library, the manuscript 
department, the print room, and the newspaper room are 
the most frequented parts of the museum, and are visited for 
purposes of research by people from all parts of the world. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— MUSEUMS 203 

The ancient sculpture of the museum is superior to 
any other single collection in Europe, and affords a com- 
plete series from Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome. The 
Egyptian antiquities are the earliest examples of ancient 
sculpture, and in the large rooms there are sarcophagi, 
columns, tablets of the dead, and sepulchral urns. One 
of the most interesting relics is the Rosetta Stone, which 
contains a decree of the time of Ptolemy V, probably 
about 1 96 B.C. This celebrated stone furnished the first clue 
towards deciphering the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

The Assyrian antiquities are of a most interesting 
character, and were brought from Nineveh by Mr Layard 
and others. The sculptured slabs represent the wars and 
conquests, the battles and sieges of the Assyrian monarchs; 
the colossal statues of human-headed lions and bulls give 
us some idea of the great conceptions of the artists. 

The collection of Greek sculpture is the chief glory of 
the British Museum, for the Elgin Room contains the 
so-called " Elgin Marbles," unequalled works of Greek 
sculpture, executed without doubt by Pheidias and those 
of his school. They are from the Parthenon at Athens, 
a temple that was consecrated in 438 B.C., and still stands, 
a noble ruin, to this day. 

The department of coins and medals is of great value, 
for it contains no less than 250,000 specimens, which 
are arranged vertically into historical compartments, and 
horizontally into geographical. We can thus gain a 
complete view of coins current throughout the civilised 
world during a particular period or century, and trace the 
development from the rudest to the finest art. 



204 WEST LONDON 

The gems and gold ornaments form a collection which 
is probably the richest of its kind in the world ; and the 
Waddesdon Bequest Room has the collection of arms, 
jewels, plate, enamels, carvings, and other works of art, 
which were bequeathed to the museum by Baron Ferdinand 
Rothschild. It constitutes the finest bequest ever made to 
the museum, and is worth at least £300,000. 

The collections of glass and pottery are very rich and 
valuable, and the prehistoric remains and Early British 
antiquities are most varied and extensive. The ethno- 
graphical gallery contains a collection of objects illustrating 
the habits, dress, warfare, handicrafts, and religions of the 
less civilised people of the world. 

We will now give a brief survey of the Natural 
History Museum, which, as we have said, was built to 
contain the natural history collections of the British 
Museum. This enormous building, in the Romanesque 
style, was erected from the designs of Mr A. Waterhouse, 
and stands on the site of the International Exhibition of 
1862. It is remarkable for the varied terra-cotta decora- 
tions on the external facades and internal wall surfaces. 
On the western side of the building the ornamentation 
is based on living organisms, while on the eastern side it 
is derived from extinct specimens. 

As we enter, we find ourselves in the Great Hall, with 
its grand staircase facing us, surmounted by a statue of 
Darwin. In the Great Hall are exhibited the introductory 
series to the zoological and botanical collections, and illus- 
trations of general laws in natural history. These latter 
are of great interest, illustrating such principles as variation 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— MUSEUMS 205 

under domestication, external variation according to sex 
and season, albinism, melanism, and protective resemblance 
and mimicry. 

The gallery of British zoology contains a collection of 
animals of all classes, which are, or have been in recent 
times found, in the British Isles. The collection of birds 





Natural History Museum, South Kensington 



is specially beautitul, not only in themselves, but for the 
charmingly natural way in which they are set up. Here 
is the wonderful Gould collection of humming-birds, and 
in a great gallery not open to the general public are 
stored some hundreds of thousands of specimens repre- 
senting the birds of every portion of the globe. The 
first floor has stuffed mammals, and the series of gorillas, 



206 WEST LONDON 

chimpanzees, and orang-utans attract special attention. 
The mineral collection is very extensive, for it has speci- 
mens of every mineral species and variety. 

The botany department has two divisions. In one, 
the collections consist of specimens suitable for exhibition, 
and are meant to illustrate the various groups of the 
vegetable kingdom and the chief facts on which the 
natural system of plant classification is based ; while the 
other, which comprises some splendid herbaria, is set apart 
for persons who are engaged in the scientific study of 
plants. 

Occasionally special exhibits are on view in the museum, 
and during 1909, the centenary of the birth of Charles 
Darwin, there was a very notable collection of specimens, 
books, and prints illustrating the life-work of one who 
may be said to have wrought a greater change in scientific 
thought than any man since the day of Newton. 

The buildings known officially as the Victoria and 
Albert Museum stand on some 12 acres of land purchased 
out of the surplus proceeds of the Exhibition of 1851. 
The idea of the original South Kensington Museum ori- 
ginated with the Prince Consort, and the first buildings 
were opened in 1857. These were of a temporary 
character but, as time went on, fine permanent buildings 
were erected. A great deal of the beautiful work in their 
decoration was carried out by an enthusiastic body of 
artists, and to them we owe the fine terra-cotta work on 
the north side of the quadrangle, the faience in the 
refreshment rooms and staircase, and the pavements. 
Some of the tile-work was designed by Sir Edward 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— MUSEUMS 207 

Poynter, and the firm of which William Morris was the 
head designed and carried out the charming decorations 
in the grill room. Subsequently the fine science school 
was built, and then the library and two great architectural 
courts were erected. The South Kensington Museum, as 
it was called down to 1 909, played a most important part 
in the education of the British public, and largely to its 
influence we may attribute the more artistic taste now 
shown in the decoration and furnishing of our homes. 

The accommodation for the exhibits was found to be 
far too limited, and in 1898 it was decided to prepare 
plans for a new building, the foundation stone of which 
was laid by Queen Victoria in 1899. From that year to 
1909, the work went on, and then the Victoria and 
Albert Museum, as it is appropriately called, was opened 
by King Edward VII. 

The new buildings are of a most attractive character, 
and are from the designs of Sir Aston Webb, R.A. The 
architect says that "a free Renaissance treatment has been 
adopted as the one that best admits of the introduction 
of the very large amount of window space required in 
such a building." The museum has a frontage to 
Cromwell Road, and also to Exhibition Road. The main 
entrance is in the former, and has a great portal finished 
by an opening lantern of the outline of an imperial crown, 
to mark its character as a great national building. The 
scheme of sculptured decoration on the front includes 
statues of 32 famous British artists and craftsmen ; and 
there is a figure of Fame on the lantern, and two figures 
on the buttresses below, representing Sculpture and 



208 WEST LONDON 

Architecture. There are statues of Queen Victoria and 
the Prince Consort, and of King Edward VII and Queen 
Alexandra. The carved panels in the archivolt bear a 
quotation in letters of gold from Sir Joshua Reynolds's 
Discourses — " The excellence of every art must consist in 
the complete accomplishment of its purpose." 

The internal arrangements of the new buildings are 
admirable. Although on simple lines, " an attempt has 
been made to prevent weariness to the visitors by avoiding 
galleries of undue length, by providing vistas and glimpses 
through the building in passing, and by varying the sizes, 
proportions, and design of the various courts and galleries." 
The new buildings double the accommodation for the 
exhibits, and when the contents are re-arranged, London 
will have one of the finest museums in the world. 

The primary object of the museum is to provide 
models for, and to aid the improvement of, such crafts and 
manufactures as are associated with decorative design. 
The contents are grouped by industries, and the depart- 
ments contain collections relating to woodwork, furniture, 
and leather; metal work; textiles; architecture and 
sculpture ; engraving, illustration, and design ; library and 
book production; paintings; ceramics, glass, and enamels. 
From this classification of the varied contents of the 
museum, it will be seen how comprehensive is its scope. 
We have space only to mention a few of the notable 
objects that are exhibited. The famous Raphael Cartoons 
bought by Cromwell, and hung at Hampton Court from 
the time of William III till they were transferred to this 
museum, are a great attraction. The relics of the old 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— MUSEUMS 209 

architecture of London are most interesting, especially 
the carved oak front of Sir Paul Pindar's house in Bishops- 
gate Street, and a room with fine oak panelling, an 
ornamented ceiling, and a stone fireplace, from Bromley 
Palace in the east of London. The collections have been 
much enriched by the beneficence of private donors, chief 
among whom were Mr Sheepshanks, who bequeathed his 
pictures, and Mr John Jones, whose gifts of French 
furniture, porcelain, bronzes, and other objects were valued 
at £250,000. In the southern galleries may be seen 
Stephenson's first locomotive the " Rocket," the first 
hydraulic press by Bramah, the engine of the " Comet " 
the first steamboat, and many models of ironclads, liners, 
and lighthouses. 

The India Museum is really a branch of the old 
South Kensington Museum, and comprises objects for- 
merly in the possession of the East India Company. 
There are examples of Hindu architecture, models of 
Indian divinities, and a rich collection of brocades and 
shawls from the gorgeous East. At present, the future 
of this museum is under consideration, and there is reason 
to believe that it will be merged in the general museum. 

The Imperial Institute was erected as a memorial of 
Queen Victoria's Jubilee, and was opened in 1893. The 
building is one of the finest in London, and the chief 
feature, the central tower, rises to a height of 300 feet 
above the great portal. The prevailing style of the build- 
ing is a free rendering of the Renaissance, which has been 
so much in vogue during the last 20 years. The Institute 
has been reorganised, as it did not quite fulfil the intentions 

b. w. l. 14 



210 



WEST LONDON 



of the founders, and part of the building now belongs to 
the University of London, the remainder being under the 
control of the Board of Trade. The object of the Institute 




The Imperial Institute 



is to organise and illustrate the industrial and commercial 
resources of the Empire, and the collections contain pro- 
ducts of our different Colonies and Dependencies. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— ART GALLERIES 211 

25. Public Buildings— (d) Art Galleries. 
National Gallery, National Por= 
trait Gallery, National Gallery 
of British Art, The Wallace 
Collection. 

The art collections of London are unrivalled for 
their variety and beauty, and the numerous national 
galleries are now well arranged and much appreciated 
not only by connoisseurs but also by the general public. 
The collections of pictures and sculpture in the palaces 
and in some of the mansions of the wealthy are magni- 
ficent, but as they are not open to the public we can 
only record the fact of their existence. The most popular 
of the national collections are at the National Gallery, 
the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery, and 
Hertford House. We have already noticed the contents 
of the Victoria and Albert Museum, so that we need not 
further deal with the treasures of that fine institution. 

From an architectural point of view the National 
Gallery is the least satisfactory of all our national build- 
ings. It occupies an excellent position on the north side 
of Trafalgar Square, which has been called the finest site 
in Europe, but its elevation is not imposing, and the 
dome and the cupolas are mean and seem to dwarf the 
building. The architect was not allowed a free hand in 
his designs, so that some allowance must be made for 
him. The building is in the Classical style, raised high 
upon a terrace; it was opened in 1838. Mr Ruskin, 

14—2 



212 



WEST LONDON 



who derides the dome — " such as it is," are his words — 
is bound to confess that the National Gallery is "without 
question the most important collection of paintings in 
Europe." 

The arrangement of the pictures is according to 
schools, with a close adherence to chronological order. 
With very few exceptions, all the schools are represented, 




The National Gallery and St Martin's Church 

and every year sees an accession to the treasures of this 
gallery, either by purchase or by the generosity of art 
lovers. The Umbrian School is one of the most inter- 
esting departments, and here is the "Ansidei Madonna" 
by Raphael. This celebrated picture, which is by many 
considered one of the finest pictures in the world, was 
bought from the Duke of Marlborough for £70,000. In 
the Venetian room the notable pictures are very numerous. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— ART GALLERIES 213 

The Dutch pictures, with their realistic and domestic 
atmosphere, are very different from those of the Italian 
masters. The Dutch interiors, the landscapes, and still 
life are excellent. A most famous picture is Van Dyck's 
"Charles the First." The pictures of the Spanish school, 
too, are magnificent. 

We have not space to glance at many of the other 
schools so well represented in the National Gallery, but 
we must emphasise the value of the splendid collections 
representing British art. Here we have the great works 
of Sir Joshua Reynolds illustrated by his portraits; of 
Hogarth " that great moralist and satirist in paint " ; of 
Gainsborough and Constable distinguished in portraiture 
and landscape ; and of such notable artists as Wilkie, 
Opie, Raeburn, Crome, Morland, and Landseer. 

The National Portrait Gallery adjoins the National 
Gallery, but is in a separate building which was opened 
in 1896. It contains a most interesting collection of the 
worthies and notabilities of the English race, and its 
portraits have been called a "graphic dictionary of national 
biography." This National Roll of Honour contains 
upwards of 1000 portraits and covers the whole period 
of our history from the reign of Richard II. As far as 
possible they are arranged in chronological order, but, 
with the exception of the reigning sovereign, living 
personages are not represented. 

The National Gallery of British Art, or the Tate 
Gallery as it is familiarly called, is a branch of the 
National Gallery. It is at Millbank and was founded 
by Sir Henry Tate in 1897. The building stands on 



214 



WEST LONDON 



the site of Millbank Prison, and is eminently satis- 
factory as an art gallery. Its chief exterior feature is 
the Corinthian portico supporting a figure of Britannia. 
The galleries are built around a central hall which rises 
into a dome. The rooms are well lighted, and the 
pictures admirably hung and not overcrowded. The 
Tate Gallery has the collection of 65 pictures given 




The Tate Gallery 



by Sir Henry Tate, and the pictures and sculptures 
bought under the Chantrey Bequest. The Turner 
collection of pictures bequeathed to the nation by that 
great artist, and representative of his earlier and of his 
later manner, has been transferred from the National 
Gallery to the Tate Gallery. There are also examples 
of pictures of the British school, mainly of the mid- 
Victorian period, and more especially of Millais, Holman 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS -ART GALLERIES 215 

Hunt, Madox Brown, Burne-Jones, and of the rest of 
the small band of artists who adopted the name of 
" Pre-Raphaelite. " The finest collection is, however, in 
the rooms which contain the chief works of George 
Frederick Watts, one of the greatest painters of the 
Victorian Age. The pictures were presented to the 
nation by the artist, and convey some of the lessons he 
was anxious to teach to the men and women of our 
time. 

We now pass to the Wallace Collection in Hertford 
House, Manchester Square, which once belonged to 
the Marquis of Hertford, but became the property of 
the British nation in 1897. It was probably the finest 
private collection in the world, and its value has been 
estimated at ^4,000,000. The special charm of the 
Wallace Collection is that the pictures and other works 
of art remain to a large extent as the skill and taste of 
their former owners had placed them. Hence they seem 
rather as the ornaments of a fine mansion than as so many 
items in a museum or picture gallery. The collection 
consists of arms and armour ; furniture and other objects 
of art; and pictures. The collection of armour is unique; 
the French furniture is unrivalled ; and the Sevres porcelain 
is comparable only to that at Buckingham Palace and 
Windsor Castle. In closing this brief reference to the 
Wallace Collection, we may add that the pictures repre- 
senting the French School of the eighteenth century are 
equal to those in the Louvre. 



216 WEST LONDON 

26. Public Buildings — (e) The Hospitals. 
St Thomas's, St George's, Char= 
ing Cross, Royal Military Hospital, 
Foundling Hospital. 

London is proud of its hospitals, and their admini- 
stration is improving year by year. In no other city is 
so much done to alleviate pain and suffering. The sub- 
scriptions of all classes for the maintenance of the hospitals 
amount to a very large sum each year. There are three 
great funds which raise money for this purpose; first 
there is King Edward's Hospital Fund, which was in- 
augurated in the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond 
Jubilee; and then there are the Hospital Sunday Fund, 
and the Hospital Saturday Fund. Many of the large 
hospitals are without medical schools, but some of the 
oldest and best have them as part of the foundation. 
The total income of all the London hospitals in 19 10 
amounted to nearly £800,000, and in the same time 
about 4,000,000 attendances were made by out-patients, 
while nearly 93,000 in-patients were accommodated. 
Besides the large general hospitals, there are special 
hospitals for the treatment of children, as well as for 
consumption, slcin disease, fever, and cancer. 

In the volume on East London special reference 
was made to St Bartholomew's, Guy's, and the London 
Hospitals, therefore in this volume we shall notice only 
St Thomas's, St George's, Charing Cross, the Foundling, 
and Chelsea Hospitals. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— HOSPITALS 217 

St Thomas's Hospital stands on a fine site on the 
right bank of the Thames facing the Houses of Parliament. 
It is one of the most ancient, and also one of the richest 
and largest of the London Hospitals. Founded about 
1 2 13, it was at first an almshouse endowed by the Priory 
of Bermondsey. As time passed, its usefulness increased, 
and after many changes it was removed in 1871 from its 




St Thomas's Hospital 



original site in Southwark to its present riverside frontage. 
The buildings are of red brick relieved with Portland 
stone, and in front of them runs the Albert Embank- 
ment. The yearly income is over ^63,000, and is 
mainly derived from invested property. There are 561 
beds, and the staff consists of 126 nurses. In 1910 



218 WEST LONDON 

there were 7316 in-patients, while 85,581 out-patients 
were given advice and treatment. St Thomas's has a 
famous medical school, and it holds a high place in the 
history of nursing, for the Nightingale Fund Training 
School for Nurses is associated with it. 

St George's Hospital opposite Hyde Park Corner was 
founded in 1733, but it has only occupied its present 
position since 1829. It has a medical school, and the 
nursing staff numbers 150. There are 334 beds, and 
in 1 9 10 they were occupied by 4867 patients. During 
the same period 48,583 out-patients visited the hospital. 
The most distinguished name associated with this hospital 
is that of John Hunter, the great anatomist, who died 
suddenly in the old building in 1793. 

Charing Cross Hospital founded in 1820 has an 
annual income of about £23,000, a very small portion 
of which is derived from investments. The present 
building was designed by Decimus Burton in 1831, and 
much enlarged in 1904. It has a medical school, a staff 
of 64 nurses, and 150 beds. During 1910 there were 
21 12 in-patients, and 21,863 out-patients. 

We now pass to the consideration of the Royal 
Hospital at Chelsea, and of the Foundling Hospital in 
St Pancras. The Royal Military Hospital stands at 
a little distance from the river towards the east of 
Chelsea, and is devoted to the accommodation of old 
disabled soldiers. The first stone of the building, which 
was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was laid by 
Charles II in 1682, but it was not completed till 1690. 
The structure is of red brick faced with stone, and is 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS— HOSPITALS 219 

a good specimen of Wren's work. It is well-proportioned, 
and is built round three courts. The chief facade faces 
the river, and in the centre stands a bronze statue of 
Charles II. 

In the Great Hall there are portraits of great com- 
manders, and the remnants of flags that have been carried 
on many a battlefield. There are about 540 pensioners 




Chelsea Hospital: the Dining Hall 



in this Hospital, and every week they assemble in the 
Hall to receive their pay. This weekly muster is a 
picturesque sight, for the men in their uniform, which 
consists of red coats in summer, and blue coats in winter, 
with quaint peaked caps, or cocked hats when in full 
dress, represent the elite of our veteran soldiers. The 
men have little to do, and all reasonable liberty is allowed 



220 WEST LONDON 

them. They are expected to attend service on Sunday 
in the chapel, and such a scene has been portrayed by 
Sir Hubert Herkomer in his celebrated picture " The 
Last Muster." The remains of the Duke of Wellington 
lay in state in the Great Hall in November, 1852. The 
Hall was draped in black and lighted with wax tapers, 
and crowds of people were admitted to this solemn 
spectacle. Around the Hall stood picked soldiers of the 
Grenadier Guards with their arms reversed ; while Yeo- 
men of the Guard were on duty around the bier. 

There is an enclosure of about 13 acres to the north 
of the Hospital, and this is planted with limes and horse 
chestnuts, while towards the south are extensive gardens. 
Altogether the Hospital and grounds occupy 50 acres. 

The Foundling Hospital has a unique place among 
the many charitable institutions of London. It has a 
curious history, for it was founded in 1739 by Captain 
Thomas Coram, for exposed and deserted children. The 
founder was a benevolent seaman whose heart was 
touched by the deserted infants so often found in the 
streets of London. When first instituted, the hospital 
was open to all children, whose mothers had simply to 
leave them in a basket placed for the purpose at the 
gates. After a while other regulations were made, and 
now 500 children are admitted. From its early days 
this charity has attracted the sympathy of many great 
men. Handel gave the organ to the chapel, and there 
he often presided at performances of his Messiah for the 
benefit of the institution. Hogarth painted the portrait 
of the founder which hangs in the board-room, and 




A ^ 



X « 



222 WEST LONDON 

Dickens describes the place in Little Dorrit. The building, 
of brick with stone dressings, has a centre and wings, 
with spacious gardens behind and a playground in front, 
where the boys in red waistcoats and the girls in their 
white aprons may be seen at their games. On Sundays 
the services in the chapel are frequented by many visitors, 
both for the trained singing of the children and their 
picturesque appearance. The boys and girls sit on each 
side of the famous Handel organ ; the boys in red sashes 
and the girls in white mob caps, tuckers, and aprons. 
The altar-piece in the chapel is a fine picture, " Christ 
Blessing Little Children," by West, and the Hospital 
has also among its treasures Hogarth's " Finding of 
Moses," and Raphael's cartoon of the " Massacre of the 
Innocents." 



27. Education — Primary, Secondary, 
and Technical. Foundation and 
Collegiate Schools. The Univer= 
sity of London. 

Before the year 1870, the elementary education of 
the children of London was not compulsory, and was 
managed by the Church of England and other religious 
denominations. Mr W. E. Forster introduced a bill for 
the compulsory attendance of all children at school, and 
when this Education Act was passed in 1870, a body 
known as the London School Board was formed. It 
consisted of 55 members, and for a period of 33 years 



EDUCATION 223 

was the directing authority for much of the elementary 
education in London. During its regime the Church, 
Catholic, Wesleyan, and other denominational schools 
were controlled by their own managers, and had nothing 
to do with the London School Board. 

The work of the London School Board came to an 
end in 1903, when Mr Balfour passed a new Education 
Act by which the London County Council became the 
Education Authority for the County of London. The 
London County Council actually superseded the London 
School Board on May 2, 1904, and an Education Com- 
mittee was then formed to deal with all classes of education. 
At the present time the Education Committee consists of 
40 members of the London County Council together 
with 12 co-opted members, who are specially chosen for 
their interest in the work of education. 

The great merit of the last Education Act is due to 
the co-ordination of all branches of education in the 
hands of one body. Thus the London County Council 
have charge of all the elementary schools, both those 
belonging to the late London School Board, and the 
denominational schools. The latter schools, however, are 
still allowed to give their own religious instruction, and 
their managers have some control over the teachers in 
these schools. 

Now in considering the extensive duties of the London 
Education Committee, we will begin with elementary 
education. There are about 920 schools for this purpose, 
and they have accommodation for over 750,000 scholars, 
whose ages vary from three to 15. The children have 



224 WEST LONDON 

a sound elementary education, which is well graded for 
their capacities. There are also many special schools for 
instruction in such subjects as cookery, laundry-work, 
housewifery, and manual work, and also for the separate 
treatment of children who are deaf, blind, and mentally 
and physically defective. 

The Council have also a great many departments 
known as Central Schools, where the curriculum is of 
a more advanced character, and the course of instruction 
is arranged for four years, after an entrance examination. 
For the whole of the elementary schools there are about 
20,000 teachers employed, and altogether the London 
County Council expend upwards of three million pounds 
yearly on its educational work. 

The Higher Education work of the London County 
Council began by taking over the duties of the Technical 
Board, and since 1904 it has been concerned with technical, 
secondary, and university education. The Council has 
adopted the policy of maintaining and developing the 
work of existing institutions in London before erecting 
new institutions under its own management, and to give 
facilities for scientific and technological instruction in 
every district of London. The most important of all the 
institutions which provide technical education are the 12 
Polytechnics, where instruction is given in the ordinary 
branches of science and art, as well as in the engineering, 
building, and chemical trades. There are other institutes 
which are specially devoted to the teaching of one par- 
ticular craft, and these are styled Monotechnic Institutions. 
Thus there is one school devoted to training craftsmen 



EDUCATION 225 

in photo-process work and lithography, a second to 
carriage-building, and a third to leather-tanning and 
leather-dyeing. 

The London County Council has numerous Schools 
of Art under its control, and there is also the Central 
School of Arts and Crafts, which provides for the artisans 
of London instruction in decorative design. The trades 
for which provision has been specially made at this school 
are those directly or indirectly associated with the building 
trades, such as decorators, stone-carvers, metal-workers, 
cabinet-makers, and designers of wall-papers. 

Considerable grants are made by the London County 
Council to the University of London, and to University 
College, King's College, Bedford College, and the London 
School of Economics, and in return these bodies give 
a certain number of free places to the nominees of the 
Council. The London County Council spend large sums 
of money in the award of scholarships which carry pupils 
from the elementary to secondary schools. It has now 
t6 secondary schools of its own, and it further makes 
annual grants to other schools that receive its scholarship 
holders. 

Besides the schools under the control of the London 
County Council there are also some great Public Schools 
which must be specially mentioned. First there is St 
Paul's School, the most ancient, for it was founded in 
1509 by Colet, Dean of St Paul's. Colet was one of the 
leaders of the Renaissance in England and St Paul's was 
the first English school in which Greek was publicly 
taught. For many years it was under the shadow of the 

b. w. l. 15 



226 



WEST LONDON 



great Cathedral, but in 1884 it was removed to its present 
fine buildings in the Hammersmith Road. Westminster 
School is at the back of Westminster Abbey ; it was 
founded by Henry VIII out of the spoils of the monas- 
teries, and richly endowed by Elizabeth. 

Two other famous public schools formerly stood in 
the very heart of the City. Christ's Hospital — or as it was 
commonly called the "Blue Coat School" — was one of the 




St Paul's School 



most cherished institutions of London. It was founded 
in the reign of Edward VI, and its scholars still wear 
the picturesque dress of that period. Owing to want of 
room, the school was removed to a spacious site near 
Horsham in Sussex, and the old buildings have given 
place to the extension of the General Post Office. The 
Charterhouse School was removed from London in 1872, 
and was established in a fine building at Godalming 



EDUCATION 



227 



in Surrey. The Charterhouse was founded in 1611 by 
Thomas Sutton, and though the boys have gone, the 
brethren of the foundation, some eighty in number, live 
on in the same place, in collegiate style. Merchant 
Taylors' School, founded by the Merchant Taylors' 
Company, dates back to 156 1. In addition to these great 




University College 



and famous schools of the past, there are others of a 
later date, which give a similar education. Among these 
may be mentioned Dulwich College, the City of London 
School, University College School, and King's College 
School. 

We now come to the last section of this chapter, 
which has to deal with the University of London. 

15-2 



228 WEST LONDON 

Founded in 1836, the University was for many years an 
examining body, and had nothing to do with the work 
of teaching. Its examinations proved whether students 
had been well taught in certain subjects, and whether 
they merited its certificates or degrees. In 1898, however, 
the University became a teaching body as well as an 
examining board. Its headquarters were formerly at 
Burlington House, Piccadilly, but after its re-organisation, 
the central block and one of the main wings of the 
Imperial Institute at South Kensington were assigned for 
this purpose. The various colleges, and medical schools, 
such as King's College, University College, Bedford 
College, and others are now " Schools of the University." 
The number of students attending the 42 Schools of the 
University are about 3500, who pursue a course of study 
approved by the University. 



28. Roll of Honour. 

For some years before 1901 the Society of Arts 
placed tablets on houses of historical interest in London, 
and since that date the London County Council have 
undertaken this work. There are now more than one 
hundred houses that are so indicated, but the work is by 
no means completed, for there are many celebrated men 
who have lived and died in London whose houses have 
not yet been marked by a memorial tablet. In addition 
to this commemoration of noted Londoners there are 
also statues to some of them in the streets and squares, 



ROLL OF HONOUR 229 

as well as monuments to them in the cathedrals and 
churches of the metropolis. In this rapid survey of men 
who have conferred distinction on London it will be 
possible to do little more than just mention the locality 
with which they were connected, or the special work 
which links them to the great City. The Roll of Honour 
of London necessarily includes men whose names are of 
world-wide significance, and whose memory is honoured 
by other towns and counties in our country ; but there are 
many of them who are indissolubly linked with the asso- 
ciations of London. To use the words of Lord Rosebery 
it may be said that in taking a walk in London "it is an 
immense relief to the eye and to the thoughts to come on 
some tablet which suggests a new train of thought, which 
may call to your mind the career of some distinguished 
person, and which takes off the intolerable pressure of the 
monotony of endless streets." 

We need not spend much time on the royal person- 
ages who are associated more particularly with London. 
The fact that it has been the capital for nearly a thousand 
years, and that the Court has resided there for the greater 
part of that period, tells us at once that all our monarchs 
have some claim, either by birth or residence, to be con- 
sidered Londoners. There are a few, however, that we 
recall at once for some special reasons. Alfred has been 
called the founder of London ; William I built the Tower 
for its protection ; and Charles I was beheaded at White- 
hall. Westminster Abbey with all its historic associations 
has been the crowning place of our sovereigns, and there, 
too, many of them are buried. 



230 WEST LONDON 

Neither will it be necessary to recount the long list 
of divines who have spent much of their time in London. 
When we remember that St Paul's Cathedral and West- 
minster Abbey have given us a succession of noted bishops 
and deans, and that Lambeth Palace, the official residence 
of the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been the home of 
nearly one hundred successors of St Augustine, we at 
once realise what a part London has played in the 
religious life of our nation. Here also, however, we may 
select a few outstanding names. Becket, son of a wealthy 
merchant, in many ways the most famous of our arch- 
bishops, was born in London, behind the Mercers' Chapel 
in the Poultry. John Colet, Dean of St Paul's, friend of 
Erasmus, was the founder of St Paul's School. John 
Wesley was educated at the Charterhouse, and held his 
first Methodist Conference in London in 1744. Sydney 
Smith, the witty Canon of St Paul's, had previously 
been preacher at the Foundling Hospital and at Berkeley 
Chapel. Frederick Denison Maurice, the leader of the 
Broad Church movement in the reign of Victoria, was 
Chaplain at Guy's Hospital and Lincoln's Inn, and one 
of the founders of the Working Men's College, which 
did so much for the intellectual improvement of the 
artisan class. John Henry Newman was born in London 
in 1 80 1, and lived near Bloomsbury Square, in the garden 
of which he and young Disraeli used to play. Outside 
Brompton Oratory and facing Brompton Road there is a 
statue of Newman as Cardinal. 

The statesmen who have identified their fortunes 
with London are very numerous. Thomas Cromwell 



ROLL OF HONOUR 231 

was born at Putney, and, after helping Henry VIII in 
the dissolution of the monasteries, was beheaded on 
Tower Hill. Walpole, the great prime minister of the 
early Georgian period, lived in Arlington Street. Edmund 




John Henry, Cardinal Newman 

Burke received his legal training at the Middle Temple, 
and his speech in Westminster Hall on the impeachment 
of Warren Hastings was one of his greatest efforts. He 
was fond of London, and among his literary friends were 
Dr Johnson and Goldsmith. The great Earl of Chatham 



232 WEST LONDON 

was born in the parish of St James, Westminster, and his 
son, William Pitt, one of our foremost prime ministers, 
has a statue to his memory in the Guildhall. George 
Canning, who followed in Pitt's footsteps, was brought 
up in London, and trained at Lincoln's Inn. His statue 
faces the Houses of Parliament. Sir Robert Peel has 
special claims on our notice, for not only did he repeal 
the Corn Laws, but he formed the Metropolitan Police 
Force — or " Peelers " as they were at first termed — who 
took the place of the old watchmen. He was thrown 
from his horse near Hyde Park Corner, and died from 
the effects of the fall at his house in Whitehall. Peel's 
services to London are brought to our mind by his statue 
at the west end of Cheapside. Benjamin Disraeli, 
afterwards Lord Beaconsfield, became one of the most 
interesting prime ministers of the Victorian era. He was 
born in Theobald's Road, and died at 19, Curzon Street, 
Mayfair. His statue by Boehm is in front of the Houses 
of Parliament where he won his triumphs. Gladstone, 
too, spent much of his time in London. He lived in 
Harley Street and in Carlton Terrace, and the statue to 
his memory i.i the Strand is one of the most striking in 
London. Gladstone was buried in Westminster Abbey, 
and there his st.it ae is near that of his great rival, Lord 
Beaconsfield. 

Among the men of action whose fortunes were con- 
nected with London, we will name the two foremost in 
our history. Nelson, the greatest admiral since the world 
began, and Wellington, the hero of a hundred fights, are 
assuredly the pride and possession of the Empire ; and 



ROLL OF HONOUR 233 

London honoured them both with public funerals which 
were unique in their pomp. Both of them were laid to 
rest in St Paul's, where there are splendid monuments 
to their memory. Nelson's monument in Trafalgar 




Lord Beaconsfield 

Square is one of the sights of London, and everyone 
knows the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington 
in front of the Royal Exchange. The Duke lived at 
Apsley House, Piccadilly, and when he was out of favour 
with the London mob, the windows of that residence 



234 WEST LONDON 

were broken. General Gordon was born at Woolwich, 
and has a statue in Trafalgar Square. Here we may 
mention that London has been very generous in raising 
statues to its military heroes, and Havelock and Napier, 
the Crimean soldiers, and those who fought in South 
Africa and elsewhere, are all commemorated either in the 
public squares or in the cathedrals and churches of the 
metropolis. 

The historians and antiquaries who flourished in 
London form a goodly company. Leland, who was 
born in London about 1506, was educated at St Paul's 
School. Among his works The Itinerary is the best 
known, and shows that even in early Tudor days men 
were beginning to take an interest in .the past history 
of their country. John Stow, who formed a worthy 
successor to Leland, was the son of a tailor of Cornhill, 
where he was born in 1525. Stow was the first historian 
of London, and his Survey of London and Westminster is 
the foundation of all later work on that subject. A very 
striking monument to his memory is in the church of 
St Andrew Undershaft. William Camden, scholar, anti- 
quary, and historian, was educated at Christ's Hospital, 
and St Paul's School. He stands out as the great historian 
of his country in the reign of Elizabeth, and his Britannia 
does for the whole country what Stow did for London. 
John Strype, who lived in the later Stuart period, received 
his education at St Paul's School. He is connected with 
Hackney, and continued Stow's Survey of London and 
Westminster to the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
Edward Gibbon, the author of the Decline and Fall of 



ROLL OF HONOUR 235 

the Roman Empire, was born at Putney. In many ways 
that history is one of the greatest works in our literature, 
and we like to think of the author as the friend of Johnson, 
Burke, and Goldsmith. Henry Hallam, the author of the 




Edward Gibbon 

Constitutional History of England, and other historical 
works, lived for 20 years at 67, Wimpole Street. That 
house has a singularly pathetic interest, for it was also the 
home of his son, Arthur Henry Hallam, Tennyson's dear 
friend, to whose memory In Memoriam was the poet's 



236 WEST LONDON 

tribute. The following lines from that poem refer to the 
house : — 

" Dark house, by which once more I stand, 
Here in the long- unlovely street, 
Doors, where my heart was used to beat 
So quickly, waiting for a hand, 



A hand that can be clasped no more." 

George Grote, whose History of Greece was his chief 
work, died at 12, Savile Row. Lord Macaulay, one of 
our most picturesque and graphic historians, spent many 
happy years at the Albany in Piccadilly, removing after- 
wards to Holly Lodge, Campden Hill, where he died 
in 1859. His worth as the writer of the History of 
England and as an essayist are recognised by his statue in 
Westminster Abbey, where he was buried. 

London has always been famous for its poets, and 
during the Elizabethan period it was "a nest of singing- 
birds." One of our earliest poets, John Gower — 
" Moral " Gower as he was called — lies buried in South- 
wark Cathedral, where there is an effigy to his memory. 
Chaucer, too, has made Southwark famous for all time. 
He was born in London, resided in Aldgate, and became 
Comptroller of the Petty Customs. It was at the Tabard 
Inn, Southwark, that his company of pilgrims assembled 
for their journey to Canterbury. Chaucer subsequently 
lived in Westminster, and was buried in the Abbey. 
Edmund Spenser, author of the Faerie Queene, was born 
in London, probably near the Tower. He ended his 
life in distressed circumstances at an inn in King Street, 



ROLL OF HONOUR 237 

Westminster. Shakespeare, the greatest of all our dra- 
matists, came to London when he reached manhood, and 
his first work there was probably some lowly office in 
connection with the Curtain Theatre at Shoreditch. All 
his work in London was either as actor or playwright, 




Edmund Spenser 

and the Globe and the Blackfriars Theatres on the 
Surrey side were the scenes of his triumphs. His con- 
temporaries in London were Beaumont and Fletcher, 
Massinger and Ben Jonson, and the latter he often met 
at the Mermaid Tavern in Bread Street. His friend, 



238 WEST LONDON 

Ben Jonson, realised his greatness, for he says that Shake- 
speare wrote "not for an age but for all time." There 
is a fine monument to Shakespeare in the Abbey, and 
a later one in Leicester Square. John Milton, the greatest 




Ben Jonson 

of the Stuart poets, the son of a London scrivener, was 
born in Bread Street, Cheapside. He was educated at 
St Paul's School, and lies buried in St Giles's, Cripplegate, 
where there is a monument to him in the churchyard. 
Among the London poets of the early Georgian period 



ROLL OF HONOUR 



239 



Dryden, Pope, and Gray take a high place, but Goldsmith 
has stronger claims on our attention. He reached London 
in destitution, became a physician in Southwark, and then 
usher in a school at Peckham. Eventually he found the 
friendship of Dr Johnson, and became a member of the 
famous Literary Club. He died at 2, Brick Court, 




John Milton 



Temple, and was buried in the Temple Church. William 
Blake, poet and artist, was born in 1757 in Broad Street, 
Golden Square. He had many residences in London, and 
died in Fountain Court, Strand, on 12 August, 1827. 
Samuel Rogers, Lord Byron, and Keats were three London 
poets who helped to make the early nineteenth century 



240 WEST LONDON 

famous. Lord Byron was born in London, at 16 Holies 
Street, Cavendish Square, and there is a statue to him in 
Hyde Park ; Rogers died at 22, St James's Place ; and 
Keats, in many ways the most brilliant of the trio, was 
born at Moorfields, and passed much of his short life at 




Alexander Pope 

Well Walk, Hampstead. Of the Victorian poets, Robert 
Browning was born at Camberwell, educated at Peckham 
and at University College, and buried in Westminster 
Abbey ; Thomas Hood, who wrote The Bridge of Sighs 



ROLL OF HONOUR 241 

and the Song of the Shirt, was born in the Poultry quite 
close to Bow Church ; and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one 
of a gifted family, was born at 28, Charlotte Street, now 
no, Hallam Street. 




William Blake 

The men of letters who have made London their 
home are even more numerous than the poets. Caxton, 
the first English printer, set up his printing press at 
Westminster, where he published eighty separate books, 
the first being The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers. 

b. w. l. 16 



242 WEST LONDON 

Pepys, writer of the famous Diary, was educated at St 
Paul's. School and lived in Buckingham Street, Strand. 
He was buried in St Olave's, Hart Street, at nine o'clock 
at night ; and there are monuments in that church to him 




Samuel Pepys 

and to his wife. For a correct and realistic knowledge 
of London of the time of Charles II his book is without 
a rival. Evelyn, too, who wrote a Diary of the same 
period, lived at Deptford, and his work though less 
lively, is of high value. Nor must we forget Daniel 



ROLL OF HONOUR 243 

Defoe, who wrote the Journal of the Plague Tear. 

He was born in St Giles's, Cripplegate, 1661, and is 

buried in Bunhill Fields Cemetery. Of all the men 

of letters of whom London is justly proud, none is 

greater than Dr Johnson. He is styled the "leader of 

literature in the eighteenth century," and the best part 

of his life's work was accomplished in London. The 

celebrated Club founded by Sir Joshua Reynolds at the 

Turk's Head, Gerrard Street, Soho, included among its 

members Johnson, Burke, Goldsmith, Gibbon, and 

Boswell, but Johnson was the acknowledged leader. 

London was the greatest place in the world to Johnson. 

"Fleet Street," he once said, "has a very animated 

appearance ; but I think the full tide of human existence 

is at Charing Cross." The house in Gough Square, 

where he wrote the Dictionary, still stands ; his seat in 

St Clement Danes Church in the Strand has a brass 

plate on it; and the Cheshire Cheese, one, of his favourite 

haunts in Fleet Street, is yearly visited by thousands of 

his admirers. Johnson died at 8, Bolt Court, Fleet Street, 

and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Happily, we 

can follow Johnson in his London life, for Boswell's 

biography of his hero gives us the minutest details of his 

friends and their homes. Charles Lamb, the gentle 

essayist, was a true Londoner. Born in the Middle 

Temple he was educated at Christ's Hospital, and 

was a clerk in the East India House for 36 years. 

Most of his essays were written in London before he 

retired to Enfield. When we come to the Victorian 

era, we have a goodly company of men of letters who 

16—2 



244 WEST LONDON 

delighted in London. Thackeray, the great novelist, 
was educated at the Charterhouse, and Vanity Fair, 
Esmond, and Pendennis were written at Young Street, 
Kensington, or Kensington Palace Road, where he died. 
Dickens, too, was essentially a Londoner. He knew 
the metropolis of his time as few others knew it, and 
in such novels as David Copperfield, Sketches by Boz, and 
the Pickwick Papers we find evidences of this intimate 
knowledge. He lived at 48, Doughty Street, and in the 
Marylebone road. Thomas Carlyle, essayist, historian, 
and man of letters, lived at 5, Cheyne Row, now 24, 
Cheyne Row, for 50 years. There he wrote most of 
his books, and his house is now a museum, visited by 
thousands every year. Leigh Hunt, the essayist and author 
of The Town, lived at Upper Cheyne Row, Chelsea, and 
afterwards at Hampstead. James Mill and his son John 
Stuart Mill lived in London, the latter being born in 
Rodney Street, Pentonville. With " George Eliot," 
who wrote The Mill on the Floss at Holly Lodge, 
Wimbledon Park Road, and John Ruskin, the fine-art 
critic and brilliant prose-writer, who lived for a while at 
Croydon, we must close our review of the Victorian men 
of letters. 

When we turn to the men of science who lived in 
London, we find such names as Newton, Herschel, 
Hunter, Jenner, Darwin, Lyell, Faraday, Huxley, and 
Lord Kelvin. Sir Isaac Newton lived at 87, Jermyn 
Street, and was Master of the Mint. Sir John Herschel, 
the great astronomer, lived at 56, Devonshire Street. 
He, too, was Master of the Mint, and was buried in 



ROLL OF HONOUR 245 

Westminster Abbey. John Hunter, the eminent surgeon 
and anatomist, began to practise at Golden Square, and 
afterwards lived in Jermyn Street. Among his pupils 
were such men as Dr Abernethy, and Jenner, who 



John Ruskin 

introduced vaccination. Darwin lived for some years in 
Gower Street, and it was there that he wrote one of his 
earliest books, the Structure and Distribution of Coral 
Reefs. Sir C. Lyell, the eminent geologist, who lived at 
73, Harley Street, Faraday the chemist, and Huxley, 



246 WEST LONDON 

one of the greatest leaders of modern scientific thought, 
used to delight distinguished London audiences by their 
brilliant expositions of science. Lord Kelvin spent the 
closing years of a brilliant career at 15, Eaton Place. He 




Michael Faraday 

was buried on December 23, 1907, in the nave of West- 
minster Abbey, next to the grave of Sir Isaac Newton. 

London has been the home of some of our greatest 
painters. Hogarth, born in Bartholomew Close, Smith- 
field, and apprenticed to an engraver in Cranbourne 



ROLL OF HONOUR 247 

Street, knew all the phases of London life and reflected 
them in his pictures. Sir Joshua Reynolds, the greatest 
English portrait painter and the founder of the Royal 
Academy, was the friend of Johnson and the great literary 




Joseph Mallord William Turner 

men of his time. Reynolds died at his house in Leicester 
Fields. Turner, our greatest landscape painter, was the 
son of a London barber, and Sir David Wilkie, whose 
paintings of humble life are so familiar, lived in about 
a dozen houses in various parts of London. John 



248 WEST LONDON 

Leech, a humorous artist, was born at 28, Bennett 
Street, Stamford Street, S.E., and was educated at the 
Charterhouse, where he was a fellow pupil of Thackeray. 
He died at Kensington, 1864. Lord Leighton, who may 




C "^v J* 



John Leech 

be called the last of the great Victorian artists, lived at 
Holland Park. There he built himself a house worthy 
of an artist, and there he died in 1896. Leighton House 
was presented to the nation after the death of the artist, 
to whom it is intended as a memorial. It is very beautiful 



ROLL OF HONOUR 249 

and contains a large collection of his pictures and studies, 
and exhibitions are occasionally held in its rooms. 

Our survey of London's famous men must close with 
a reference to three philanthropists. William Wilber- 
force, the man who devoted his life to freeing the slaves, 
lived at Broomwood House, Clapham ; John Howard, 
the reformer of prison life, passed some of his days at 
23, Great Ormond Street ; and Sir Rowland Hill, who 
introduced penny postage, lived at 1, Orme Square, 
Bayswater. His statue stands at the east end of the 
Royal Exchange. 

From this brief survey of London's Roll of Honour, 
it will be seen that the City has always had a charm, 
almost a fascination, over the lives of many of our great 
men. An attachment for London is the experience of 
most people who come to it early enough, and Dr Johnson 
expressed this feeling when he said : — "Why, sir, you find 
no man at all intellectual who is willing to leave London. 
No, sir, when a man is tired of London he is tired of life, 
for there is in London all that life can afford." 



29. THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER AND 
THE BOROUGHS IN THE NORTH-WEST 
AND SOUTH-WEST OF THE COUNTY 
OF LONDON. 

The City of Westminster comprises the following civil 
parishes: — Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter, Liberty of 
the Rolls, Precinct of the Savoy, St Anne within the Liberty of 
Westminster, St Clement Danes, St George Hanover Square, 
St James Westminster, St Margaret and St John, St Martin-in- 
the-Fields, St Mary-le-Strand, and St Paul, Covent Garden. 

Among the London boroughs it ranks thirteenth in point of 
population, and tenth with regard to area. The population is 
decreasing, and the density is 64 persons to the acre. There are 
723 acres of open spaces, including the finest parks in London, 
namely, Hyde Park, part of Kensington Gardens, Green Park, and 
St James's Park. It is interesting to note that Westminster was a 
city for a brief period in the reign of Henry VIII. Edward VI, 
however, dissolved the bishopric, and to the end of the nineteenth 
century Westminster had no municipal authority. In 1899 it 
became one of the London boroughs, and in the following year it 
was created a city by royal charter. Although there is some 
dispute as to the origin of the name, most authorities are now 
agreed that when the monastery of St Peter was founded here, it 
was called the West Minster to indicate that it lay to the west of 



BOROUGHS 251 

the East Minster in the City of London. It will also be remem- 
bered that this name gradually supplanted that of Thorney. 
Westminster has the royal palaces, and is the seat of government, 
containing as it does the Houses of Parliament, the Government 
Offices, and the Royal Courts of Justice. There are 14 wards 
in Westminster, and the borough council consists of 10 aldermen 
and 60 councillors. 

Battersea comprises the area of the parish of Battersea, 
and its large population shows a density of 78 persons to the 
acre. In open spaces, Battersea is fortunate in having Battersea 
Park and large parts of Clapham Common and Wandsworth 
Common, comprising in all about 400 acres, or nearly one-fifth 
of the whole borough. The borough is divided into nine wards, 
and the council consists of nine alderman and 54 councillors. 
The municipal buildings on Lavender Hill are among the finest 
in London. The name, Battersea, has undergone several changes. 
In the Domesday Book it is called Patricesy, and has since been 
written Battrichsey, Battersey, and Battersea. The manor of 
Battersea belonged from a very early period to the Abbey of 
St Peter at Westminster, but passed to the Crown at the dissolu- 
tion of the religious houses. 

Chelsea is one of the smallest boroughs in London, its area 
being little more than one square mile. It is thickly populated, 
and the density of persons to the acre is 100. The borough is 
divided into five wards, and the council consists of six aldermen 
and 36 councillors. In a Saxon charter of Edward the Con- 
fessor, the name is written Cealchylle, and in Domesday Book it 
appears as Gerechede, and Chelced. At a later date we find 
Sir Thomas More writing it as Cheleith, and the present name, 
Chelsea, is probably derived from the nature of the place, for, says 
an old writer, "its strand is like the chesel which the sea casteth 
up of sand and pebble stones, thereof called Cheselsey, briefly 
Chelsey, as is Chelsey in Sussex." Chelsea was at one time a 



252 WEST LONDON 

very aristocratic district, and was the residence of Sir Thomas 
More, Sir Hans Sloane, and other men of note. It was also 
famous for the Ranelagh and Cremorne Gardens, the Bun House, 
and for its china. The Physic Garden, formerly the property 
of the Apothecaries' Society, is in this borough, and Chelsea 
Hospital for Soldiers, built by Wren, is one of the chief buildings. 
Among the modern improvements are the Albert Suspension 
Bridge and the Embankment. Cheyne Row is associated with 
the name of Thomas Carlyle, who resided there for many years, 
as also did Turner, the famous landscape painter. Kalm, who 
visited England in 1748, relates that "Chelsea is almost entirely 
devoted to nursery and vegetable gardens," and was visited by 
"those who lived in London, now and then, especially on Saturday 
afternoons, for the fresh air, and the advantage of tasting the 
pleasures of a country life." 

Fulham is below the average of the London boroughs in 
area, and its population shows a density of 90 to the acre. There 
are only five small open spaces in Fulham covering an area of 
about 68 acres. The borough is divided into eight wards, and the 
council consists of six aldermen and 36 councillors. From long 
before the Conquest, the manor of Fulham has belonged to the 
see of London, and Fulham Palace has been for three centuries 
the summer residence of the Bishops of London. The building 
is of no great antiquity, but the house and grounds are sur- 
rounded by a moat. The parish church of All Saints stands 
near the river, and has a fine tower 95 feet high, with a peal of 
10 bells. The church is Perpendicular in style and has some 
good monuments. Fulham has always been famous for its 
nurseries and market-gardens; and about 1753 a manufactory 
of Gobelin tapestry was established here by Peter Parisot. It 
produced beautiful fabrics but the manufacture soon declined. 
Kalm, to whom earlier reference has been made, thus writes of 
Fulham in 1748: — "in appearance it is a pretty town with several 



BOROUGHS 253 

smooth streets. All the houses are of brick, very beautifully 
built, some of which belong- to gentlemen. Round about this 
place the country is full of gardens, orchards, and market- 
gardens, both for pleasure and use, and it can indeed be said 
that the country here is everywhere nothing but a garden and 
pleasance." 

Hammersmith is the most westerly of the London 
boroughs. Its area is about three and a half square miles, and 
its population shows a density of 53 persons to the acre. The 
borough is divided into seven wards, and the council consists 
of six aldermen and 36 councillors. The handsome Town 
Hall in the Broadway was opened in 1897. Hammersmith 
Suspension Bridge across the Thames, erected in 1827, was the 
first suspension bridge built near London. It was replaced in 
1887 by a new bridge. Hammersmith was formerly noted for 
its extensive market-gardens, orchards, and dairy farms. It had 
several good mansions, and was the residence of the nobility and 
wealthy citizens. Now the mansions have given place to factories 
and small houses, and all the fields have been built over. The 
Parish Church of St Paul was consecrated by Bishop Laud in 
1 63 1, and has been often repaired, enlarged, restored, and finally 
rebuilt. It has some interesting monuments; and among them 
is a bronze bust of Charles I. Hammersmith has quite an 
unusual number of large institutions of an ecclesiastical or 
educational character ; besides St Paul's School itself, there are 
the Preparatory School (Colet Court), St Paul's Girls' School, 
Upper and Lower Latymer Schools, as well as Technical and 
County Council Schools. Queen Caroline, wife of George IV, died 
in 1 82 1 at Brandenburg House, one of the most noteworthy of 
the Hammersmith mansions, and the house was soon afterwards 
pulled down. In recent years Hammersmith has been the home 
of many celebrated writers, among whom William Morris was 
one of the most famous. 



254 WEST LONDON 

Holborn is the smallest of all the London boroughs, and 
its population shows a density of 122 to the acre. The borough 
consists of the united parishes of St Giles-in-the-Fields and 
St George, Bloomsbury, St Andrew, and St George the Martyr, 
the Liberty of Saffron Hill, Lincoln's Inn, Gray's Inn, Staple Inn, 
and part of Furnival's Inn. The borough is divided into nine 
wards, and the council consists of seven aldermen and 42 
councillors. Holborn plays an important part in the history of 
London, and its main road formed the route from Newgate and 
the Tower to the gallows at Tyburn. William, Lord Russell, 
went to the scaffold in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and Titus Oates and 
others were whipped in the Holborn line of road from Aldgate to 
Tyburn. Gerard dates his Herbal, 1597, from his house in 
Holborn, and in this famous book he mentions many of the rarer 
plants which grew well in his garden. Perhaps the greatest 
improvement in Holborn of recent years was the construction of 
the Holborn Viaduct, a really fine engineering feat, which spans 
Farringdon Street. It was opened in 1867 and has proved a 
great boon to the City, for now the traffic has no longer to climb 
Snow Hill or Holborn Hill. 

Kensington is known as the Royal borough, and as the 
"Old Court suburb." It was specially provided by the Act of 
1899 that Kensington Palace should be transferred from West- 
minster to Kensington. Among the London boroughs Kensington 
ranks twelfth in point of area, and ninth as regards population, 
the density of which is 75 to the acre. A part of Kensington 
Gardens is within the Royal Borough, and on its eastern 
boundary is Hyde Park. The borough is divided into nine 
wards, and the borough council consists of 10 aldermen and 
60 councillors. The Town Hall is one of the finest in London. 
Kensington Palace, to which reference has been made, is mainly 
the work of Wren. Kensington is famous for its public museums 
and institutions, and fine houses. Within its borders are the 



BOROUGHS 255 

Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum, the 
Imperial Institute and University of London, the Royal College 
of Music, and the Guilds' Technical College. Holland House 
is the stateliest piece of Jacobean architecture in London, and 
Leighton House with the Arab Hall is now maintained by trustees 
for the encouragement of the fine arts. Among the many men 
of note who have lived in South Kensington may be men- 
tioned Macaulay, Thackeray, John Leech, Leigh Hunt, and Lord 
Leighton. 

Lambeth is fifth in point of area, and third as regards 
population among the London boroughs. As much land remains 
to be built over, the density of population is only 73 persons to 
the acre. There are about 208 acres of open spaces in Lambeth, 
including Brockwell Park, Kennington Park, Vauxhall Park, 
Archbishop's Park, Ruskin Park, and Myatt's Fields. The 
borough has nine wards, and the borough council consists of 
10 aldermen and 60 councillors. The fine municipal buildings 
are at Brixton, and the new London County Council Hall is 
being built on land beside the river in Lambeth. Besides 
various manufactures, such as soap and chemicals, Lambeth is 
specially celebrated for its potteries, which have existed for 
upwards of 200 years. Lambeth Palace is the chief historical 
building in the borough, and for centuries it has been the 
official residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury. St Thomas's 
Hospital is a fine group of buildings at the Westminster Bridge 
end of the Embankment, and opposite the Houses of Parliament. 

Paddington is much smaller than St Marylebone, but has 
a larger population, the density being 105 persons to the acre. 
At the beginning of the nineteenth century it was described as 
"a village situated on the Edgware Road, about a mile from 
London." It made a great advance towards the middle of that 
century when the terminus of the Great Western Railway was 
built. It has 132 acres of open spaces, of which 102 acres are in 



256 WEST LONDON 

Kensington Gardens. The borough has nine wards, and the 
borough council consists of 10 aldermen and 60 councillors. 
The chief highway of Paddington is Harrow Road, a broad and 
winding thoroughfare. Near its eastern end is Paddington 
Green with a fine statue to Mrs Siddons, the celebrated actress, 
who was a resident in Paddington. The Paddington branch of 
the Grand Junction Canal runs through the borough and joins 
the main canal at Uxbridge more than 13 miles away. In the 
Bayswater Road is the beautiful Chapel of the Ascension, whose 
interior is decorated with mural paintings of Scriptural scenes, 
especially those associated with the Ascension. Behind this 
Chapel is the disused burial ground of St George's, Hanover 
Square. Here is the grave of Laurence Sterne, with the inscrip- 
tion on the tombstone, Alas, poor Yorick! Near to this place 
lies the body of the Rev. Laurence Sterne, M.A., who dyed 
September 13, 1768, aged 55 years." 

St Marylebone is one of the smaller London boroughs, 
and its population shows a density of 80 persons to the acre. The 
population and the number of inhabited houses show a steady 
decrease, owing no doubt to the conversion of dwelling houses 
into shops, factories, etc. This borough is fortunate in having 
372 acres of open spaces, including 362 acres of Regent's Park. 
There are nine wards in the borough, and the borough council 
consists of 10 aldermen and 60 councillors. The name of this 
borough has undergone many changes. Pepys curiously renders 
it Marrowbone, and in the eighteenth century it was Marybone. 
Originally, however, the parish was called Tyburn, from the 
stream which ran through it. But at the beginning of the 
fifteenth century a new church dedicated to St Mary was built, 
and this was called St Mary's-le-bourne, i.e. St Mary on the 
brook, to distinguish it from other churches of the same dedica- 
tion. We are told that the people of the village were glad to 
change its name from Tyburn, which was associated with the 



BOROUGHS 257 

gallows, to that of the new church. Among the eminent 
residents in Marylebone have been James Martineau, the 
Brownings, the Hallams, and D. G. Rossetti. 

St Pancras, the ninth of the London boroughs in point of 
size, and the seventh as regards its population, has a density of 
80 persons to the acre. It is a parish of great antiquity and is 
named after St Pancras, a young Phrygian who suffered martyrdom 
at Rome. The borough has about 350 acres of open spaces 
including Parliament Hill, Waterlow Park, and part of Regent's 
Park. There are eight wards in the borough, and the borough 
council consists of 10 aldermen and 60 councillors. The Found- 
ling Hospital, founded in 1739 by Thomas Coram, is a unique 
institution in this borough. University College and University 
College Hospital are two of the finest public buildings in 
St Pancras, while three of the great railway termini — St Pancras 
station, Euston station, and King's Cross station are within its 
borders. Among the noted residents in this borough have been 
Shelley, Dickens, Charles Dibdin, and Ruskin. 

Wandsworth, which owes its name to the little river 
Wandle, is the largest of all the London boroughs. In point of 
population it ranks second, while the density is very low, being 
only 34 persons to the acre. The borough, consisting of the 
parishes of Clapham, Putney, Streatham, Tooting Graveney, and 
Wandsworth, is divided into nine wards. The borough council 
has 10 aldermen and 60 councillors. Wandsworth is fortunate 
in having no less than 11 63 acres of open spaces, including 
Tooting Common, Putney Heath, Streatham Common, and parts 
of Wandsworth and Clapham Commons, and of Richmond 
Park. Wandsworth has a large number of public institutions, 
such as schools and hospitals, which have no doubt been 
attracted to it by the fine open spaces. Among the eminent men 
who have lived within its borders may be mentioned Thomas 
Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey, Gibbon, the historian of Rome, and 
B. w. L. 17 



258 WEST LONDON 

Swinburne, the poet. Clapham is more particularly associated 
with the Clapham sect," which included such names as Zachary 
Macaulay, William Wilberforce, and Granville Sharp. Wands- 
worth became a seat of several important manufactures introduced 
by the French Huguenots who took refuge in London after the 
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. In 1748, Kalm, a Swedish 
naturalist, visited England, and his reference to Wandsworth is 
interesting. He says, 'On the other side of the Thames opposite 
Fulham there lay a large and tolerably flat and bare common, 
which was abandoned to pastures. It was for the most part 
overgrown with Genista spinosa, furze, which was now in its best 
flower, so that the whole common shone quite yellow with it. In 
some places we saw ling here: but it was quite small. I also saw 
plats with Reindeer-moss {Lichen rangiferinus) , which also was 
very short." 



AREA AND POPULATION 



259 



A Table giving the Area and Population of the City 
of Westminster, and the Boroughs in the North-west and 
South-west of the County of London. 



e City of Westminster, and Boro 


ighs 


Area in A 


City of Westminster 


2502 


Battersea 




2160 


Chelsea 




659 


Fulham 




1703 


Hammersmith 




2286 


Hampstead 




2265 


Holborn 




405 


Kensington 




229 1 


Lambeth 




4080 


Padding ton 




1356 


St Marylebone 




1472 


St Pancras 




2694 


Wandsworth 




9 108 



32985*3 



Note. The Administrative C 



ounty 



Population in 191 ] 
160,277 

167,793 

66,404 
153,325 
I 2 1,603 

85,5iO 

49,336 
172,402 
298,126 
142,576 

1 1 8,22 I 

2 18,453 
311,402 

2,065,428 

of London. 



including the City of London, had a total area of 
74,816 acres, and a population of 4,522,961 at the 
census of 191 1. 



260 



WEST LONDON 



England & Wales 

37,327,479 acres 



London! 



Fig. 1. Area of the Administrative County of London 
(74,839 acres) compared with the area of England and Wales 



England & Wales 

Population 36,075,269 



London 



Fig. 2. The Population of the Administrative County of 
London (4,522,961) compared with that of England and 
Wales in 1911 



DIAGRAMS 



261 



England and Wales, 618 Lancashire, 2550 London 38,690 

Fig. 3. Comparative Density of Population to sq. mile 
in 1911 

(Each dot represents 618 persons) 



IS6I 


2,808,494 






1871 


3,261,396 






i30z 


3,830,297 






1891 


4,227,954 




1901 


4,536,267 




1911 


4,522,961 





Fig. 4. The Growth of Population in London from 
1861 — 1911 

J 7— 3 



INDEX 



Abernethy, Dr 245 
Admiralty, the 194 
Albert Bridge, the 51 

— Embankment, the 47 

— Memorial, the 35 
Aldwych 160 

Alfred, King 108, 229 
All-Hallows 125, 129 
All Saints, Fulham 252 

— Margaret Street 134 
Apsley House 233 
Augusta 5 

Austin Friars Church 128 

Bacon, Lord 193 
Bank of England 103 
Banqueting House 150 
Barnard's Inn 193 
Barnes Common 66 
Barry, Sir C. 180 
Battersea 119, 251 

— Bridge 152 

— Park 23, 24, 46 
Bays water Conduit 58 
Bazalgette, Sir J. 47, 51 
Beaconsfield, Lord 232 
Becket 12, 30 
Bedford College 228 
Bermondsey 94 
Bethnal Green 86, 92 
Beulah Spa 59 
Billingsgate 96, 99 
Birdcage Walk 32 



Blackfriars Bridge 172 

— Theatre 237 
Blackheath 63 
Blake, William 239 
Boadicea 104 

Bostall Heath and Woods 23, 63 
Boswell, 243 
Botanical Gardens 37 
Bow 92 

— Bells 87 
Bradshaw 57 
British Museum 118 
Brockwell Park 23, 24, 28 
Browning, Robert, 240 
Buckingham Palace 151, 153 
Bucklersbury 122 

Burke, Edmund 231, 243 

Cade, Jack no 

Caer-Lud 3 

Camden, William 234 

— Square 79 
Canning, George 232 
Carausius 104 

Carlyle, Thomas 244, 252 
Caxton, William 241 
Central Criminal Court 177 
Chapel of the Ascension 256 
Chapels, Royal 136 
Charing Cross 47, 52 
Charles I 229, 253 
Charlton 63 
Charterhouse, the 227 



INDEX 



263 



Chatham, Loid 231 
Chaucer, Geoffrey 18, 236 
Chelsea 19, 92, 251 

— Royal Hospital 45 
Cheyne Row 244, 252 
Christ's Hospital 226 
Clapham 258 

— Common 23, 24, 29 
Clement's Inn 193 
Clerkenwell 59, 95 

Coal Exchange 103 
Cockney 87 
Colet, Dean 225, 230 
Commons, House of 183 
Constitution Hill 33 
Coram, Capt. Thomas 220 
Corn Exchange 102 
Coronation Chair, the 145 
Court of St James' 152 
Cromwell, Oliver 57 

— Thomas 231 
Curtain Theatre 237 

Darwin, Charles 245 
Defoe, Daniel 242 
Deptford 99, 243 
Dibdin, Charles 257 
Dickens, Charles 87, 244 
Disraeli, Benjamin 232 
Dodd, Dr 57 
Doves', the 43 
Dowgate 96 
Downing Street 195 



Duck Island 32, 



East Minster 138 
Education, Board of 196 
Edward the Confessor 107, 138, 

251 
Edward VI 226 
Edward VII 207, 208 
Electric Railways 171 
Eltham 63 

Embankment, the Thames 47 
Epping Forest 21, 23 
Erkenwald 157 
Evelyn, John 242 



Faraday, Michael 247 
Felton, John 56 
Finsbury 14, 19 
Fire, the Great in, 125 
Fitzailwin, Henry 108 
Fleet Street 94, 243 
Foreign Office 195 
Fulham 9, 252 

— Palace 157, 252 
Furnival's Inn 193 

Geoffrey de Mandeville 17 
"George Eliot" 244 
Gerard 66, 254 
Gibbon, Edward 234, 243 
Gibbs, James 132 
Gladstone, W. E. 232 
Globe Theatre 237 
Golders Hill 24, 25 
Goldsmith, Oliver 239, 243 
Gordon, General 234 

— Lord George 113 

— Riots 113 
Gosfrith 17 
Gough Square 243 
Gower, John 18, 236 
Grays Inn 188 

— — Chapel 136 

— — Road 115 

— — Rookery 70 
Green Park, the 21, 33 
Greenwich 9 

— Observatory 81 

— Park 21 
Grote, George 236 
Guildhall, the 97 

— Museum 116, 121 
Gundulf 107 

Hackney 23 
Hainault Forest 23 
Hallam, Henry 235 
Hammersmith 13, 253 

— Bridge 45, 51 
Hampstead 64 

— Barrow 120 

— Pleath 23 



264 



WEST LONDON 



Handel 220 
Hatton Garden 86, 96 
Havelock 234 
Hawksmoor, Nath. 132 
Henry VII 139 

— — Chapel 147 
Herschel, Sir J. 244 
Hertford House 215 
Highgate 64 

— Wood 21 

Hill, Sir Rowland 249 
Hoccleve 18 
Hogarth 246 
Holborn 14, 254 

— Viaduct 254 
Holland House 160 
Hollovvay 13 

Holy Trinity, Chelsea 134 
Holywell 59 
Home Office, the 195 
Hood, Thomas 240 
Horse Guards, the 194 
Howard, John 249 
Huguenots 90 
Hungerford Bridge 52 
Hunt, Leigh 244, 255 
Hunter, John 245 
Hurlingham Club 45 
Huxley, Thomas 245 

Imperial Institute, the 209, 22* 
India Office, the 195 
Inner Temple 188 
Inns of Chancery 193 

Court 136, 188 

Ireton 57 

Isle of Dogs 95 

Islington 19, 99 

— Spa 59 

Jenner 245 

Johnson, Dr 243, 249 

Jonson, Ben 157 

Kalm 68, 252, 258 
Keats, John 240 
Kelvin, Lord 246 



Kensington 254 

— Gardens 21, 35 

— Palace 35, 151, 254 
Kentish Town 60 

Ketch 57 

King's College 228 

Kingsway 160 

Lamb, Charles 243 
Lambeth 47, 92, 255 

— Bridge 52 

— Palace 47, [55, 255 

— Palace Chapel 128 
Leadenhall 100 

Leech, John 248, 255 
Leighton, Lord 248, 255 

— House 255 
Leland 234 
Lewisham 63 
Lincoln's Inn 188, 190 

— — Chapel 136 

— — Fields 254 
"Lloyds" 102 
Llyn-Din 3 

Local Government Board 196 
Lollards Tower 157 
Lombards 97 
Lombard Street 97 
Londinium 3, 15 
London 2, 3 

— Basin 61 

— Bridge 15, 164 
- City of 13, 14 

— Clay 13, 14 

— County of 13 

— — Council 113, 174, 
223, 228 

— County Council Hall 

255 

— Fire Brigade 176 

— Port of 177 

— School Board 176, 222 

— — of Economics 213 

— Stone no, 123 

— University 227, 228 

— Wall 15 
Ludgate 5 



INDEX 



265 



Lydgate 18 
Lyell, Sir C. 245 

Macaulay, Lord 19, 236 

— Zachary 258 
Mall, the 31 
Marble Arch, the 34 
Martineau, James 257 
Marylebone 19 
Maurice, Rev. F. D. 230 
Mayor of London 108 
Mellitus, Bishop 105, 138 
Merchant Taylors' School 227 
Mermaid Tavern 237 
Metropolitan Board of Works 

"3, 174) 177 

— Police 197 

— Water Board 60 
Middle Temple 188 
Mile End 109 

Mill, James 244 

— John 244 
Milton, John 238 
Mint, the Royal 103 
Monk, General m 
Monument, the in 
Moorfields 104 

More, Sir Thomas 251, 252 
Morris, William 43, 253 
Museum, British 200 

— India 209 

— Natural History 200, 204 

— Victoria and Albert 206 
Myddelton, Sir H. 59 

Napier, Lord 234 
National Gallery 2 1 1 

— Portrait Gallery 213 

— Gallery of British Art 2 1 4 
Nelson 233 

Newman, Cardinal 230 
New River 59 

— — Company 60 
Newton, Sir Isaac 244 

Oates, Titus 254 
Omnibuses 172 



Paddington 255 
Pall Mall 113 
Parisot, Peter 252 
Parliament, Houses of 179 

— Hill 24, 25 
Paternoster Row 94 
Peel, Sir R. 232 
Peers, House of 182 
Pepys, Samuel 169, 242, 256 
Physic Garden, the 68 

Pitt, William 231 
Plague, the 1 1 1 
Plumstead 13, 63 

— Marshes 67 
Poets' Corner 142 

Port Authority, the 178 
Primrose Hill 37, 38 
Privy Council Office 195 
Putney Bridge 51, 115 

— Heath 66 

Pyx, Chapel of the 147 

Queenhithe 96 
Queen's Park 21 

Ravenscourt Park 24, 27 
Regent's Park 21, 36 
Rennie, John 54 
Reynolds, Sir J. 247 
Rogers, Samuel 240 
Rosebery, Lord 113, 174, 229 
Rossetti, D. G. 240 
Rothschild, Baron F. 204 
Rotten Row 34 
Royal Albert Docks 118 

— Courts of Justice 185 

— Exchange, the 102 
Ruskin, John 244, 257 
Russell, Lord 254 

St Albans', Holborn, 134 
St Andrew's, Holborn, 132 

— Well Street 134 

St Andrew Undershaft 129, 234 
St Anne's, Soho 132 

— Westminster 250 
St Bartholomew's T28 



266 



WEST LONDON 



St Botolph's 106, 125 

St Clement Danes 84, 107, 132, 

250 
St Dunstan's 106 
St Ethelburga's 125, 129 
St Etheldreda's 128 
St George's, Bloomsbury, 132 

- — Hanover Square 134, 250 
St Giles's, Cripplegate 129 

— Camber well 134 
St James's Palace 151 

— Piccadilly 132, 250 

St John's, Westminster 134, 250 

St Magnus' 84, 107 

St Margaret's 148, 250 

St Martin-.in-the-Fields 132, 250 

St Mary Abbots 134 

St Marylebone 256 

St Mary-le-Bow 127 

St Mary-le-Strand 132 

St Olave's 84, 107, 129, 242 

St Osyth's 106 

St Pancras 257 

— Station 170 

St Paul's, Covent Garden 250 

— School 225, 253 
St Peter ad Vincula 129 

St Peter's, Westminster 250 
St Saviour's 128 
St Stephen's 150 
St Swithin's 106, 123 
Savoy Palace 109, 151 
Sebert, King 138 
Serpentine, the 34 
Shakespeare 236 
Sharp, Granville 2 58 
Shelley 257 
Sheppard, Jack 56 
Shipping Exchange 102 
Shoreditch 94 
Shot Tower, the 50 
Siddons, Mrs 256 
Sloane, Sir Hans 68, 252 
Smirke, Sir R. 201 
Smith, Sydney 230 
Smithfield 99, 1 10 
Soho 86 



Spitalfields 86, 92 
Spring Gardens 199 
Staple Inn 161, 193 
Stepney 86 
Sterne, Laurence 256 
Stock Exchange 102 
Stow, John 234 
Streatham 13 

— Common 23, 24 
Street, George E. 185 
Sutton, Thomas 227 
Sydenham 11 

Tabard Inn 236 

Tate Gallery 214 

Taylor the Water Poet 167 

Temple Gardens 66 

Tennyson 235 

Thackeray 244 

Thames, the 38 

— Conservancy 177 

— Watermen 50 
Thavies' Inn 193 
Thorney 107, 137 
Tooting Common 30 
Tower, the 41, 107, 168 

— Hamlets 19 
Traitors' Gate 168 
Treasury, the 195 
Tube Railways 171 
Turner, J. M. W. 247, 252 
Tybourne, Tyburne 55, 56, 256 
Tyburn Lane 56 

— Road 56 

— Tree or Gallows 56 

University College 228, 257 
■ — Hospital 257 

Vauxhall Bridge 52 
Victoria Embankment 160 

— Memorial 155 

— Park 23 

— Tower 180 

Walbrook 10, 166 
Wallace Collection 215 



INDEX 



267 



Walpole 231 
Walworth 109 
Wandle, the 50 
Wandsworth 257 

— Bridge 45, 51 

— Common 23, 30, 67 
"Wapping Old Stairs" 166 
War Office, the 197 
Water Gate, the 49 
Waterhouse, Mr A. 204 
Waterloo Bridge 54 
Waterlow Park 24, 27 
Wat the Tiler 109 
Wellington, Duke of 233 
Well Walk 59 

Wesley, John 230 
Westbourne, the =,$ 
Westminster 14, 250 

— Abbey 107, 137, 229 

— Bridge 7, 52 

— Hall 149, 180, 187 

— Palace 150 



Westminster Roman Catholic 
Cathedral 136 

— School 226 
Whistler 78 

White Tower, the 107 
Whitehall 111, 150 

— Palace 150 
Whittington 109 
Wilberforce, William 249, 258 
Wild, Jonathan S7 

Wilkie, Sir D. 247 , 
William I 17, 107, 149, 229 
Woolwich 21, 63, 95 

— North 14 
Wormwood Scrubs 23, 24, 28 
Wren, Sir Christopher, 111, 129, 

152, 218 

York House 150 
Zoological Gardens 38 



dambritige : 

PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 




The Cambr/dqr. iJruver^Uy 7 3 rtss 




Scale of MOs^ ~ 



?-opyriaht- Gtsorqe Phjjjp & SotlJj 



